


Defying The Stars

by rinji_chan1



Series: Fanfic Exchanges [2]
Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Aiba Exchange 2019, All the main characters cry, Astrology, Bromance, Friendship, Horoscopes, Idiots in Love, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22345072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinji_chan1/pseuds/rinji_chan1
Summary: [Originally posted from Aiba Exchange 2019 @ Dreamwidth]Aiba, an accidental horoscope writer tries to capture the heart of science teacher, Sakurai Sho, by tampering with the fortune-telling of Sho’s zodiac sign.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Sakurai Sho, Ninomiya Kazunari/Ohno Satoshi
Series: Fanfic Exchanges [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676314
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

“I quit my job yesterday.” Aiba said and managed to lighten the burden in his chest. He watched Jun staring at him blankly, with coffee nearly overflowing from the cup on the table. Jun, thankfully, got back to his senses just before the coffee spilled out.

“Come again?” Jun said.

“I quit my job as a personal manager yesterday.”

“What?” Jun exclaimed.

“Yeah, I knew you’d react that way.”

“Of course, anyone would! Aiba, you could’ve talk to me about it beforehand!” Jun raised his voice and caused the other customers around to stare at them. Aiba gestured him to tone his voice down. Jun took a deep breath, and began to talk at a slow pace. “Why on earth would you quit?”

“Remember when you took me to the hospital a few months ago?” Aiba said. “Well, the doctor said the reason I fainted was because of stress and lack of sleep. Workload had gotten too heavy lately, and so I quit.”

Jun buried his face in his hands. “I’m fine, Jun.” Aiba assured him. “You don’t need to worry about me or anything. In fact, I already applied for a new job.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jun looked up at him. “And what’s that?”

“An article writer for a magazine.” Aiba managed a smile, hoping it would cheer up Jun. But the younger man wasn’t at all convinced.

“As much as I know your love for writing, Aiba, you’re _insane_.”

“Hey, come on, this is my chance to do what I’ve always wanted to do! If you were able to have your own café business, then I can make my dream of being a writer come true too. You understand, right Jun?”

Jun shook his head side to side. “You really have lost your mind. It’s no wonder why you and Ohno broke up.”

“Could you stop the Ohno thing?” Aiba snapped. “That was a long time ago.”

“A year ago, you mean.”

Every time someone would mention Ohno, it would send Aiba downhill. He was, after all, at fault for their break up, for another reason that is. “Whatever. What’s done is done. Speaking of which, why don’t you get a boyfriend yourself? I bet a lot of men would find you gorgeous; I could introduce you to some acquaintances of mine if you want.”

Jun tugged a smirk on his face. “No thanks, I’m not that interested.” Jun said. “And for your information, I’m very hard to please when it comes to having romantic relationships.”

“You got some high standards?” Aiba asked.

Jun averted his eyes, looking elsewhere. “You could say that.”

Aiba flicked his wrist to look at his watch. “Oh well, I better go.” He said and stood up from his seat. “I don’t want to be late for my interview. See you later, I guess?”

“Yeah, see you. Here.” Jun hands him his cup of coffee. And Aiba felt tingling sensation as he felt the cup’s warm base within the palms of his hands, which matched his excitement of a new frontier that awaited him. “Good luck.” Jun said.

“Thanks, as always.”

“Alright, class is dismissed! You may go have your lunch break!”

“Goodbye Sakurai-sensei!” The students, all at once, rushed out of the classroom. Sho could hear their footsteps echoing throughout the hallway as he also went out. “Sakurai-sensei!” High-pitched voices rang in Sho’s ears. As he turned around, he found two girls in front of him and one of them seemed to be holding a magazine in their hand.

“Yes?” He said.

“Sensei, could we ask you a question?” The first girl, with a ribbon tied around her ponytail, said.

“Well, you’re already asking one.” He chuckled. “What is it?”

“Is it true that you and Ninomiya-sensei are friends?”

Sho blinked at them and for a moment, he wondered why they ask such a thing out of the blue. “Why, yes, we are friends.” He answered.

“Just friends?”

“Yes.”

“Like _really_ close friends?”

“Yes, Ninomiya-sensei and I are friends.” Sho said, rather irritated, but the gentle look on his face remained unchanged. “Why do you ask?”

The girl with the ponytail and the other girl looked at each other, eye to eye, and briefly giggled. “Well, we figured the reason why you and Ninomiya-sensei are close.” The girl with the magazine said.

“Okay, and what reason would that be?”

“Well, sensei, it says here that: Aquarius and Gemini are a perfect match! Just like you and Ninomiya-sensei!”

Sho’s smile remained on his face, but on the inside, he cringed as he heard the words come out from the student’s mouth. “Well, that’s a nice coincidence.” He said.

“The real question is, is it really just a coincidence?” The other girl said with a sly smile.

“You know, girls, you shouldn’t be into stuff like that. Those things are _completely_ unreliable.”

“Oh, we know, sensei,” Ponytail said. “We just do it for fun. Right, Mina?”

Mina nodded in response. “Yup.”

“Alright.” Sho said. “Anyway, sensei needs to go now.”

“Okay,” they said. “Bye, Sensei!” They then ran away while laughing.

Once they were gone, Sho’s expression had soured. _‘Me? And Nino?’_ He almost wanted to throw up. Sure, they were good friends but, other than the fact that neither of them had any romantic attraction towards the other, Nino was a conceited and careless man. And from time to time, Sho wondered how he end up getting stuck with him.

Sho made his way to the computer lab and entered it. He went straight to the end of the room, to where Nino’s cubicle was, and low and behold, sat a sleeping and snoring Nino. He was lying against his chair, his head nearly hanging at the edge. Sho rolled his eyes, and went to pat his shoulder. Nino flashed his eyes wide-open.

“Wakey-wakey.” Sho greeted. “Slacking off again, aren’t you?”

Nino groaned. “Oh God, what time is it already?”

“Lunch time.”

Nino slowly stretched his arms and his back, and Sho could clearly hear Nino’s bones make a crack. “Turns out having a lot of vacant time wasn’t such a good idea.” Nino said.

“Hey, look at the bright side, at least you get some sleep. I can barely keep up with my schedule; almost every hour I have a class.”

Nino went out of his cubicle and now stood side by side with Sho. “By the way,” Sho said. “The girls are at it again.”

Nino’s face went all wrinkled with disgust. “Really?” He said, and Sho nodded. “God, what’s with kids these days? Ugh, it’s so annoying.”

Sho laughed. “Guess we have to keep our distance from each other for a while, right?”

“Just because of that? No way.” Nino said. “We’ve known each other for five years, I’m not gonna let that happen.”

“How loyal.”

They stepped outside of the room and they laid their eyes upon the school garden. Small white fences surrounded the small garden which was the home of a bunch of bright green bushes, each having their own tiny flowers of various colors sprouting from it. In the middle there was a bench and a small stone table which, usually, students may use as a study area or sometimes, rarely, as a romantic rendezvous. But for the teachers, it was mainly a gossiping area. Because the garden was far away from any of the school buildings, the small garden was a perfect place for them to rant, to cry, or to just talk about other affairs which teachers never had the guts to bring it up.

Sho’s mind was about to drift away, when he heard Nino cry out loud. “Shit.” Nino said.

Sho blinked and turned to Nino. “What?” Nino then pointed out a figure from a distance.

Sho went a step forward to take a closer look. The man was roaming around the small garden with his camera and taking pictures of probably the little critters that lived there. The man is actually a new teacher in the school and Sho heard that the man was a full-time professional photographer who had a fairly good career for a few years. And for the past few months, this man has been on Nino’s radar and there isn’t a day when Nino would not talk to this person ever.

“Again?” Sho said.

“Come on, you’ve got to admit he’s pretty too.” Nino nudged him.

Sho sighed. “Nino, we talked about this last time. You can’t hit on Ohno! It’s against the rules to date a co-worker.”

“Hey, as long as the higher-ups don’t know about it, anything’s fine, right?”

Sho rolled his eyes. “Well, aren’t you a role model.”

“Heh, you’re just jealous because you’re still a virgin.”

As he heard those words from Nino’s mouth, Sho’s jaw had dropped and he glared at Nino. “You take that back.” Sho said, his face now beaming red.

“What, am I wrong?” Nino taunted him.

“I’ve put up with your jokes for five years, but now you’ve gone too far!” Sho proceeded to pinch Nino’s cheeks and forcefully stretched them. Nino paid back by getting a hold of Sho’s nose and slowly started to pull it. Both of them screamed in pain, and as they let go of each other, Sho went over Nino and wrapped his arm around Nino’s head. Nino cried out as he began to run around, forcing himself and Sho to spin and lose balance. And they lay on the ground, with their heads side by side and their eyes shut, gasping for air.

“You two seem to be having fun.” They heard a voice out of the blue.

The two of them opened their eyes, and found Ohno looking down at them. As they realized Ohno’s presence, they immediately stood up and patted their own clothes to remove the dirt which was stuck on to it. “Good morning, Sakurai.” Ohno greeted.

“Good morning.”

Ohno then turned to Nino. “Morning, Nino.”

“Good morning.” He said with a wide grin.

“You seem to be in high spirits lately.”

Nino chuckled. “Of course, it’s always a lovely day as long as I get to see you.”

Sho glared at Nino, and cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry about my friend here,” He said to Ohno. “He’s a little, you know…“ He twirled his finger beside his head.

“It’s okay.” Ohno said. “I’m used to it.”

Nino lunged forward. “So, Ohno, would you like me to accompany you to lunch today?”

“I’m still quite full so I’ll be skipping lunch. Maybe next time.” Ohno smiled and then went away.

Nino’s gaze was still glued to Ohno as he left. “He said next time.” He told Sho with a grin.

“You should really stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“The pick-up lines, it’s embarrassing.”

“Yeah right, as if our ‘wrestling match’ earlier wasn’t more embarrassing.”

Sho just shook his head in disagreement and went off. “Oh come on, lighten up, will you?” Nino said and followed him. “I bet if there’s someone you like, you’d probably do the same. Oh wait, no, you’re actually the type who’d wait around instead, aren’t I right?”

“Finding a lover is not my top priority.”

“Yeah, right.” Nino rolled his eyes. “Last year, you secretly bought a love charm during our school field trip; you think I didn’t see that? Look, if you’re so desperate, at least make an effort! Stop relying on those things and just dive in!”

“Alright, first of all, I don’t rely on them. And like I said, not my priority! There are much more important things to do than finding romance in life.”

“Well, aren’t you a role model.” Nino mimicked his words from earlier. And Sho’s face beamed red again, but this time, it wasn’t because he was mad. Romance was indeed not the first thing in Sho’s mind. But the idea of it had brought up a long forgotten memory of Sho’s past and all Sho could do was look down to his feet, trying to keep steady his beating heart.

“I’m sorry, what?” Aiba said, with his last word echoing through the room. The room was the office of a wrinkly old man named Kagoshima, a man who would eventually be his boss if he’d passed the interview. And he did, rather quickly. The interview was short to the point that his mere presence was enough for him to get hired. Aiba was overjoyed at first, until he figured out the truth.

“Horoscope writer.” The old man said as he lit up his cigarette with a lighter. “You’ll be our new horoscope writer, just like you wanted.” Kagoshima then blew out a cloud of smoke. The dreadful scent of it had filled up the room, and Aiba, of course, didn’t like it.

“You must be mistaken; I applied to be an article writer.”

“Yes, you did. And you’ll be assigned for the horoscope article of our magazine.”

“That’s not fair,” Aiba raised his voice, and was nearly shouting. “That part wasn’t specified on the ad. Shouldn’t you people hire an astrologist yourselves?”

“Look, kid, do you want the job or not? If you want to be a writer so badly, why don’t you just take it as it is?”

Aiba slumped onto his chair, frustrated. He thought that things would be easier but it all turned out to be the opposite. “But I don’t know anything about astrology.”

“Then learn it, kid! All you gotta do is just look at the night sky and watch the stars and planets, until that brain of yours finally comes up with something.”

“But what if I don’t get it accurately? I can’t become an expert in just a few days.”

“Nah, don’t sweat it. Folks these days would believe just about anything. I mean, look at the tabloids! Why do you think they’re such big hits? What the press wants is something that sells, doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. Spice things up a bit! Go crazy!” The old man then put out the cigarette butt. “Anyway, like I said earlier, you’re gonna start this week in advance. Send your work through e-mail every Friday, as simple as that.”

Aiba’s brows furrowed down, his enclosed frown had concealed his gritting teeth. “Hey, kid, I get that look on your face. Been there, done that. But that’s the reality!” The old man laughed. “I know it sounds harsh but, sometimes, people just only hear what they wanna hear, you know?”

Aiba forced a smile on his face and tried to laugh along with Kagoshima. And soon he felt his diaphragm gone sore because of it.

“You know what?” Kagoshima said. “How ‘bout I give you a year, and then after that, you can pick any position you like. Well, depending on your performance, that is.” With Kagoshima’s casual way of speaking, the offer was tempting. Aiba felt torn apart at that moment; he could just find another magazine in need of writers or any news about a writing contest like he did before in high school, but he just quit his previous job and he didn’t want to keep himself hanging.

“It’s your choice, Aiba-san.” Kagoshima said. “So, do we have a deal?”

“Sorry, sir, we don’t really have any astrology book here.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Aiba said under his breath. He had been looking the whole afternoon to find at least one. “Anywhere else I could find them?” He asked the bookstore cashier.

“Hey boss!” The cashier yelled.

“What?” A loud voice came out from the back door.

“This guy’s looking for astrology books, you know where?”

“Maybe at that crazy lady’s shop down the street?”

“Oh yeah,” He then said, in awe. “I remember that weird place.”

“Crazy lady?”Aiba’s forehead wrinkled.

“Oh, yeah, that shop’s got all sorts of things going on.” The cashier said. “One day they do palm-reading; the next, tarot cards, and so on. And sometimes they’d even have yoga classes in the morning. Trust me, my mom goes there once in a while and would even drag me into it.”

“Well, thanks for the information, I guess.”

“No problem.” The cashier then gave a toothed grin.

And so Aiba went out of the bookstore and travelled to the said place. As he reached what seemed to be the said “crazy lady’s shop”, he paused and stood in front of the doorway. Aiba scratched his head since the place looked more like a house rather than a shop. He found a blackboard sign right beside the door. “ **Essences** ”, it read. Its handwriting was very swirly and fluid, and at the bottom of it was what seemed to be a stylized drawing of a sun with a face which resembled ones from the poker cards.

Without a second thought, Aiba pushed the door and stepped inside, in an instant, he sworn he had smelled lavenders, but the first thing that caught his eye were the paper cranes which hanged from the ceiling. And, looking around, indeed, the bookstore cashier’s words were true. The place did have all sorts of things in every corner of the shop: vinyl records, bohemian accessories, and various knickknacks which were displayed on a long table. It was a mess, a beautiful mess. Every object in the room screamed for his attention, Aiba didn’t know where to start. But he remembered why he came here in the first place, and so his eyes were then fixated on the bookshelves on the wall.

“Hello.” Aiba turned to his side and saw a woman who had the greyest eyes Aiba had ever seen. He was sceptic at first, thinking they were only contact lenses, but as he looked closer to it, the thought faded away. She wore a white long dress and a grey long knitted coat over it. She also wore a flower headdress similar to the displayed ones. “Welcome to our shop,” the young lady said. “How may I help you?” She asked.

“I heard that you have astrology books.” Aiba said.

“Astrology? Oh, yes, we do have some!” She quickly went to browse the bookshelves and took out a few books and gave them to Aiba. “This book covers all the basics things you need to know about astrology.” She said as she held out to Aiba the first book. “A highly recommended book I must say.” She added. “This one here,” she held out the second one. “It’s a sort of manual, but it has a lot of pictures and diagrams, so I’m sure this will help out a lot.”

Aiba looked alternately at the books and at the woman. Her cheerfulness and beaming energy had caught him off guard. In fact, he would like to admit it was hypnotizing, and before he knew it, he already had followed her to the counter and purchased the books.

“Thank you for coming, have a nice day!” The young lady waved her hand as Aiba went out.

Aiba was once again standing in front of the doorway and he looked down to the two books inside the clear plastic bag he held. Oddly enough, the woman wasn’t _crazy_ at all. But the look in her eyes when he saw them had a surreal vibe which he couldn’t explain.

Aiba looked ahead and across the shop was a convenience store. He figured that he should go there and buy a nice cold drink and shake off what had happened earlier out of his mind. He crossed the street and went inside. He took a bottle of water and was about to head to the cashier, but he stopped and spotted the rows of magazines on display and found Mikadzuki Magazine among them. He picked one of the copies out, holding it tightly in his hand and sighed. Jun would be madder at him right now, if he knew, and Aiba didn’t want to admit he was wrong. He closed his eyes and listened to the background music coming from the speakers as he tried to calm himself down.

Aiba felt someone come up near to where he was and by instinct, he whirled around and with his opened eyes looked at the person next to him. It felt as if time had stood still when Aiba, in a second, recognized who the man was. The man was also checking out the magazines and was oblivious of Aiba’s presence. He still looked the same after so many years, except his hair was cut short and was now black, instead of a light brown like how Aiba remembered it.

Aiba casually tapped him on his shoulder. “Sakurai,” he said.

Sakurai’s eyes flicked towards him. It took them a while for either of them to say something, and Aiba couldn’t help but be amused by the hint of surprise on Sho’s face. “Aiba?” Sho said.

Aiba chucked as he heard his name. “Wow, you actually remembered me.”

“Of course,” He said with a smile. “How could I forget?”

Aiba remembered the last time he and Sho saw each other. It was during their high school graduation day; Aiba remembered how Sho and his other classmates went up on that stage to get their medals. Sho had always been a top student since the 7th grade, and Aiba found it remarkable that his grades never wavered.

There was no questioning how Sho did manage that since Aiba would often see Sho studying in the library. On the other hand, Aiba would frequently go there and read books. Though, they weren’t very close, they had talked to each other in class a few times and became good friends.

After the graduation ceremony, they had signed each other’s yearbooks. Aiba didn’t really think much of it and write a message for Sho, but Sho had given him one to his surprise. “Keep smiling”, it said.

“So, how have you been?” Sho asked.

“I’ve been well. And you?”

Sho chuckled. “I would say the same. Do you work near here?”

“Oh, not really, I just happened to pass by this place.”

“I see. I just came from work, a few blocks away from here. I’m currently a science teacher.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Believe me, it’s stressful.”

Aiba laughed. “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

“Still reading books, huh?” Sho pointed out the bag of books he was holding.

“Well, yeah, it’s been a while actually.” Aiba said. “I haven’t read any books since I became a personal manager...” He stopped. Aiba wasn’t ready to say that he had already quit that job and was now a mere horoscope writer in a magazine industry.

“I see.” Sho nodded. “Um, may I take a look?”

Aiba felt his throat go dry. “Yeah, sure.” His trembling fingers took out the astrology manual and handed it to Sho.

“Oh, wow.” Sho’s eyes widened. “You’re into astrology?”

“I guess. Just recently.” Aiba watched Sho swiftly flipping the pages and he felt his knees had started to buckle.

“Well, the truth is, I too have been into astrology lately.” Sho said, and hearing those words had calmed Aiba’s heart down.

“I don’t think it’s that surprising, coming from you. You are a science major after all.” Aiba said.

Sho chuckled. “Yes, but that’s not the reason why I got into it.”

“Okay. What’s the reason then?”

At once, Sho’s smile had faded and he pondered on the question for a long time. “For advice.” He managed to say.

“Advice?”

“Life advice, sort of. I don’t fully believe in it, but I just want to check if things are going my way, you know what I mean?”

Aiba nodded. “I get it.”

“By the way, are you going to buy that?” Sho asked. Aiba had already forgotten the copy of Mikadzuki which he held in his hand.

“Oh, no, I—I actually already have this copy.” Aiba quickly put it back on the shelf. “It’s a really good magazine, that’s all. It’s filled with a lot of short stories of various genres…” Aiba watched as Sho took the magazine out again and looked at it with interest. “I also heard their horoscope readings are good.” Aiba added.

“Really?” Sho looked up at him.

Panic had bottled up within Aiba’s chest. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll buy it.” Sho said and Aiba’s heart had skipped a beat as he heard it.

“Y-you will?”

“Why not? If it’s something you recommend, then it must be nice. You have good taste after all, Aiba.”

Aiba felt his heart constantly thumping out in his chest. He feared that every sound it made would be heard by the man in front of him. “Thanks.” Aiba said. “By the way, do you want to exchange numbers?”

“Yeah, sure.”

They both took out their phones and typed in each other’s numbers. “Here you go,” Sho said as he gave Aiba’s phone back. “What’s your sign by the way?”

“Capricorn.” Aiba said. “What about yours?”

“I’m Aquarius, the water-bearer.” Sho’s smile shined brightly in Aiba’s eyes. “It was nice meeting you again, Aiba.”

Aiba’s gaze followed Sho as he went to the counter to buy the magazine. And even when Sho was out of his sight as he went out, he was still looking.

That night, Aiba had his eyes stuck on his computer. The books were deemed not enough for him to understand the vastness of astrology. He read numerous articles and videos which explained astrology but he still couldn’t wrap it around his head. A knock on the door broke his attention from the screen and Aiba quickly rushed to open the door.

“Oh, Jun, thank goodness you’re here!” Aiba took Jun in his arms and tightly embraced him.

“Easy, easy…” Jun chuckled, gently pushing Aiba away. “You’re probably gonna squeeze out my guts or something.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, why did you call?”

“Well, I need a little help…” Aiba gestured to his room, and Jun followed.

“What is this?” Jun said, as he picked up one of the books Aiba left placed on his bed and read out the title. “Astrology for Beginners…”

“Jun, I can explain—“

“Horoscopes, really?” Jun exclaimed. “This is what I was talking about in the first place, Aiba! You shouldn’t have had quit immediately.”

“Alright, fine! You were right.” Aiba said. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to keep worrying about me anymore.”

Jun sighed. “So, is this going to be your job for the rest of your life? Being a horoscope writer?”

“It’s not. My boss said that after a year, I’ll be given a promotion if all goes well.”

“Really?” Jun raised a brow. “You trust the guy?”

Aiba shrugged. “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

“Okay, okay. So, how are you going to pull this off then?”

“Well…” Aiba tilted his head side to side. “I’m not exactly sure.”

Jun groaned. “Come on, you got yourself into this, you’ve gotta do something!”

“I don’t know, alright!” Aiba then retreated to his laptop on his desk. “I tried earlier and thought I could finally write, but it’s not working at all…” He smacked his face flat on his desk a few times before Jun went to him and told him to stop.

“Hey, I don’t wanna bring you to the hospital again.” Jun said. “You know what, let me help you practice.” He grabbed a chair and sat next to Aiba. “What does it say about Virgo on business?”

“What?”

“Oh, come on, just do it!”

Aiba looked at the astrology chart he looked up on his laptop. “Uh, along the line of ‘Keep it up’ I guess.”

“Don’t just guess!” Jun nudged him.

“Ugh, most of the descriptions here look the same to me! Purely motivational ones… Life advices, a friend of mine told me.” Aiba remembered Sho’s words, and indeed, Aiba needed an advice right now.

“Alright, why don’t we just try something else?”

Aiba licked his lips as he pondered. “You wanna try love?” He said.

“Yeah, alright, let’s go with that.”

Aiba looked at the chart again, and tried his best to form out the words. “Ah…”

“What did it say?” Jun said.

“Well, it says you’ve got a hard luck on love.” Aiba said. “It’s telling you that you’ve probably have been too clingy lately, especially to someone who doesn’t return your affection or is unaware of it. Think more for yourself and move on…” Aiba chuckled. “Wow, sounds pretty harsh, don’t you think so?” He looked towards Jun only to find his seat now empty.

“Jun?” He turned his seat around and saw Jun was now standing by the door, and had just put on his coat.

“I gotta go.” He said.

“But, why all of a sudden?” Aiba asked.

“I just remembered that I need to do something important.”

“Okay.” Aiba managed to smile.

“Good night.” Jun said and closed the door.

Aiba was alone again in his room and all he could do was look at the chart in front of him. _Love…_ He started to type in the search bar of his browser. “ **Love compatibility** …” He then pressed enter. Numerous links to websites appeared and Aiba clicked on one of them. As soon as the website had loaded, it instructed him to put his and his partner’s zodiac sign. And so he selected his sign, Capricorn, and for the other, he picked Aquarius.

Aiba bit his lip and waited patiently for the results to come out. As the white webpage started to gain its color back again, Aiba moved closer to the screen and once it was done, Aiba all but frowned.

**_”Tough luck! You and your partner are not an easy match.”_ **

Aiba’s chest had grown heavy as he read it. He slumped back on his chair and brought his hands to mess up his hair as he groaned. This was already the third time he made sure what the manual said was true. There was a love chart in the books but like everything else, it all said the same thing: Capricorn and Aquarius can’t be together at all.

Aiba didn’t want to fully believe in it, not even the whole thing, but for some reason, it getting onto his nerves. Ever since they met again earlier, Aiba could only think about Sho. Although, he had never felt this way towards Sho back then, or maybe, he only realized now.

It was also the same back then in fact, Sho, who was focused on studying, remained oblivious of Aiba, who observed him from afar. Aiba had imagined a few times before that he would approach Sho there and then, and engage in a deep conversation with him, but he never had the guts to do it.

It wasn’t because Sho was out of his league or to Aiba he was, at least. But it was unlikely that someone like Sho, who was admired by all during that time, would be enjoying the company of someone who wasn’t that much of an extrovert. That time, Aiba thought if there were only a way to bridge the gap between them, so he could know more about Sho…

Suddenly, Aiba had come up with an idea. A crazy one.

At first, he only thought of it as a joke, but the thought started to linger, and he began to shake his head. _No, no, no…_ He couldn’t—shouldn’t ever do that.

_”People just only hear what they wanna hear, you know?”_

It was tempting for Aiba to think how much power he actually had on his hands. And combined with the rekindled desire within, it was a force Aiba couldn’t reckon with.

Aiba found his hands hovered on top of the keyboard.

And he began to type…

***

Ohno munched up a large portion of his homemade sandwich. Not only because he was hungry, which he really was, but he also needed an excuse for him not to talk to the person in front of him.

Ninomiya—Nino—Kazunari.

It’s not that he didn’t like Nino or that he wasn’t attracted to him at all, he was flattered that Nino had such confidence to just approach him at his lunch table and eat with him like he’d said so. And Nino was rambling on and on about games and other things, his voice blending in with other voices and noises in the school cafeteria. And within a moment, Ohno had finished up his sandwich, where only a wrap of tissue was left present on the palm of his hands.

He swallowed, and began to speak. “Nino,” He said.

“Yes?” The younger man looked at him with wonder.

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, but aren’t you going a bit too far?”

Nino blinked.

“It’s risky, you know; if you keep on going like this.”

“Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Don’t you?”

“Worried? Why should I?” Nino chuckled. “I’m not…”

Ohno shook his head and stood up. He felt Nino’s eyes on him as he walked away and out of the cafeteria. “Ohno!” Nino rushed to follow him.

Ohno was going up the staircase, on his way to the faculty, when he heard Nino’s footsteps echoing throughout the hallway below. “Hey,” Nino said. “What’s the matter? You’re scared ‘cause I’m gonna lose my job if I get caught flirting with you?”

Ohno whirled around, looking at him. “Both of us will lose our jobs if we get caught.”

“Get caught or not, I don’t care. I like you, and I’d like to know everything about you… And probably see every part of you.”

Ohno rolled his eyes. It was as if he were looking at a man who still had a mentality of a child who thinks he could get anything he wanted. “A youngster like you should better think twice before hitting an old man like me.” He said.

Nino chuckled. “You’re just 3 years older than me. It’s not a big deal.”

Ohno sighed. “That’s what they all say. You know, the last time I dated a younger man, he also said the same thing. But in the end, he tells me that I’m too carefree, to the point he couldn’t handle it anymore. And I don’t think you’d like to commit the same mistake he made, now would you?”

“I don’t mind if I do.” Nino went up step by step closer to Ohno. “Just gotta figure out where the guy went wrong then.” He went toward him until the noses were just a few inches away from each other. Ohno backed away but his back eventually had hit the wall and he had nowhere else to go.

And now, Nino was looming over him. “You free tonight?” Nino asked, his voice nearly a whisper. “I know a good restaurant a few stations away. It’s not too far from here, but far enough for us not to get caught. What do you say?” ~~~~

Ohno tried to look anywhere else from Nino’s eyes. “I have to check some test papers…”

However, the young man’s intense gaze never faltered. “What about tomorrow?” Nino cocked his head to one side. “7 o’ clock, would you go?”

“Yeah,” Ohno managed to say. “Tomorrow at 7’s fine.” And it seemed Nino was going to go in for a kiss, so Ohno shut his eyes, thinking about the worse. But he heard a soft chuckle, and found that Nino backed away.

“Tomorrow at 7 it is.” Nino said and gave a smile.

Ohno let out a sigh of relief. “You’re not fair.”

“I know.”

The school bell rang out and Ohno quickly went up the stairs, fleeing from Nino while he had a chance.

The school garden wasn’t always Sho’s favorite place to go for privacy. Usually, he would go to the computer labs and, if Nino were present, he would turn on one of the computers and play some music as he did other things like doing paper works or creating visual presentations. But this was now a different case, because what he’ll be doing has nothing to do with the school at all. After he had made sure that the coast was clear, Sho sat on the bench and, from a paper bag, had pulled out the magazine which Aiba had recommended to him. He was fascinated with the first one he bought at the convenience store, which led to him buying the latest issue this morning before he went to school. He quickly took off the plastic and began to browse the pages until he had come across the horoscope section.

Suddenly, Sho felt something poke him on his side and he shrieked. He turned around and found a laughing Nino behind him. “Will you stop doing that?” Sho exclaimed.

“Couldn’t help it.” Nino said. “Anyway, guess who has a date tomorrow!”

“No way, you asked Ohno out?”

Nino nodded.

“Wow, you’re scary.”

Nino narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean? Also, what on earth are you reading?”

“Nothing.” Sho held the magazine close to his chest, fearing Nino would read it.

“If you’ve actually brought an adult magazine in the campus, I’m calling you a hypocrite from now on.”

“Idiot. You really think I would be crazy enough to do that?”

“Well, by the way you’re reacting, it looks like you are.” Nino snatched the magazine out of Sho’s hands and began to read out loud. “Weekly Horoscope Readings by Hoshino Nick… Well, that’s weird name.” Nino remarked. “And I thought you said you didn’t rely in these things.”

Sho snatched the magazine back. “For the last time, I don’t!” He went back to sit on the bench and continued reading.

“So, what does the stars and the planets tell us this time?”

“Well, it says that Gemini should stop being a fucking dick and mind his own business.” Nino then raised his brow. “…And on the bright side,” Sho continued. “It also says a great change will come into his life this week.”

“I hope that last part is true.” Nino said.

“Don’t get your hopes up by thinking its Ohno.”

“Whatever. What about yours, Mr Aquarius?”

“Mine? Um…”

“You should be fully aware of your surroundings,” Sho began reading. “You may miss out on opportunities that may just be right around the corner. If you’re currently seeking for love, always remind yourself that…” He came to a pause and brought the magazine closer to his face, reading the last line over and over in his head.

“That what?” Nino asked.

Sho brought the magazine onto his lap. “…A second encounter with the familiar is a whole new experience.”

Nino burst out with laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Sho asked.

“I don’t know, I thought that last part just sounded a bit, well… _sexy_?”

“Geez, how more perverted could your mind get?”

Nino shrugged in response. “Maybe on Thursday I’ll give you my answer to that.” He winked, and Sho just shook his head.

“You can do this, Masaki.” Aiba muttered. “You can do this…” He stood nearby the school gates. He figured that this was the place where Sho worked; it was in fact the only school near the convenience store. Many students walked out of the campus and Aiba was getting worried that the school guard might find him suspicious and shoo him away. Aiba then retreated to a front of a small bakery next to the school and waited there instead. A group of schoolgirls went out of the bakery with yakisoba bread in their hands.

“Sakurai-sensei was so handsome in class today!” One of them squealed.

“Yeah, he seemed to be in a very good mood today.” Another girl said.

“You think he’s got a girlfriend?”

They all then giggled. “Who knows?” They said. At that moment, Aiba felt like he wanted to sink down into the Earth.

And like it was all on cue, Aiba found, unmistakably, Sakurai Sho walking out of the school gate. At once, Aiba felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest and managed to take a few steps forward towards him. But, Aiba stopped his tracks as he found (what he assumed to be) another male teacher running to Sho and seeing them walk together made Aiba feel as if something were pinching him. It wasn’t only a painful one, but an irritating one, like being bitten by a fireant.

Aiba thought of walking away, but he couldn’t look away from Sho. It was too late for Aiba to look back to his front, because he got hit by the bike of the bakery’s deliveryman and dropped down to the ground on his back. “I’m so sorry!” The deliveryman cried out and went to Aiba’s aid. “I’m terribly sorry! Are you alright, Sir?”

“Yeah,” Aiba managed to utter. “I’m alright…” He then groaned in pain as he sat up.

“Aiba?” He heard Sho’s voice and found him approaching them along with his friend.

“Sakurai-san…” Aiba said.

“Oh my, are you alright?” Sho offered him a hand, and Aiba held onto him to get back up on his feet.

“You know this guy?” Sho’s companion asked.

“He’s a friend.” Sho said. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“Me either. Uh, who’s your friend?” Aiba asked.

“Oh, this is—“

“Ninomiya Kazunari, pleasure to meet you.” He then held out his hand towards Aiba and they shook hands.

“Aiba Masaki.”

“Anyway, what brings you here all of a sudden?” Sho asked him.

“Oh…” Aiba fiddled his hair. “I just happened to pass by again.” He then chuckled.

Aiba watched the two throw suspicious looks at him, especially Ninomiya, who had his thick eyebrows smashed together in the middle of his forehead.

“Well, since you’re here, would you like to come and eat with us, Aiba?” Sho said.

“Eh?” Aiba gaped at them.

“What?” Nino exclaimed. “No way.”

“Why not? Don’t be so rude.”

“Just because I’m treating you, doesn’t mean you can invite someone else to join in. I only brought enough money for the two of us.”

“It’s alright. I can pay my food for myself.”

“If that’s the case,” Nino said. “Then you’re welcome to join us.” Sho rolled his eyes, and Aiba tried to keep in his laughter.

And before they left, the deliveryman came back out from the bakery to catch up to them and apologized to Aiba and offered freshly baked yakisoba bread.

The three sat side by side, with Aiba beside Sho, and Sho beside Nino. They were at a food stall, eating some skewers and bowls of ramen. While eating, they talked over various things. Nino went buzzing with questions, from basic to personal ones, and Aiba would answer them politely.

“So, you guys were classmates before?” Nino asked.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Huh, no wonder you two seem pretty close.”

“We’re not close.” Sho remarked. “Just acquaintances.”

“Right…” Nino taunted him. “Acquaintances, he says.” Sho nudged him with his elbow.

“I was socially-awkward back then,” Aiba said to Nino. “And so Sakurai-san and I rarely ever get to talk, since he was really popular in school.”

Nino’s eyes went wide open and went leaning towards Aiba’s direction. “He was?” Nino took a quick look at Sho, who was taken aback at such a reaction. “Um, are we sure we’re talking about the same Sakurai Sho here?”

“Yes, we are.” Sho said.

“I guess, it seems hard for Nino-san to believe you were popular before, Sakurai-san.” Aiba chuckled.

“Well, you should see how Sakurai is in school, Aiba-san.” Nino remarked. “If what you say is true, then maybe some of Sho’s charms had already worn out.”

“How so?”

“Sho here’s always a bit of a loner. You can even consider me as his only friend in school.”

“You’re not my only friend, liar.”

“Well, to me, I don’t think much has changed.” Aiba said. “You’re still as charming as ever, Sakurai-san.”

Once again, the two shot weird looks at him and there was awkwardness between the three of them. Nino started to cough, rather unnaturally, and Sho went to drink his glass of beer. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” Nino said. “You guys don’t mind waiting?”

“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” Sho said.

Nino stood up from his seat and left the two alone. Aiba looked down to his hands which held his glass of water.

“Charming, huh?” Sho said and chuckled. “Did you just say that to flatter me?”

“Yes.” Aiba said, but he couldn’t look at Sho in the eye. “But, I genuinely think you are.”

“That’s nice.” Aiba could hear Sho smile. “Thank you.”

“Do you have a girlfriend, Sakurai?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, uh, of course, since you were very popular back then in high school, I kind of thought you might have had a girlfriend…”

Sho gave out a hearty laugh, which had caught Aiba off guard. “I’ve been single my entire life.” Sho said.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“No way. Why?”

Sho sighed. “I don’t know.” He rested his head on his hands. “I just don’t. I might’ve been a popular back then but I have no idea how to really handle people. I mean, I have no problem socializing or anything like that, I just don’t know how to have a deeper connection with them.”

“I understand. So, are you looking for a girlfriend then?”

“Not really. I don’t prioritize that kind of stuff. It’s not that I don’t want a lover, it would be nice if I had one, but since I’m not good in making connections, what’s the point?” Sho then turned towards Aiba. “I’m a very lonely person, aren’t I?” He said with a smile.

Aiba didn’t know how to react to that. Sho’s smile wasn’t enough to convince him otherwise about how lonely Sho actually was in his personal life. But, before Aiba could jump in, he wanted to, at least, make sure that he had a chance…

“Sakurai,” Aiba said. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask.”

“What is it?” Sho said and had his lips on his drink.

“Have you ever thought of dating men?”

Sho coughed, putting down his glass. “C- Come again?”

“Have you ever thought of dating men?” Aiba repeated.

Sho opened his mouth, but no words came out, and abruptly it had turn into a thin line. Aiba then heard a click of a tongue from him. “I’m sorry.” Aiba said.

“No, no, don’t say that.” Sho waved his hand. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“So, have you?”

Sho’s fingers clenched onto his glass mug and sighed. “Yeah, I have.” He said. “What about you?”

“I’ve dated some men before, but I’m currently single.”

“Oh…”

And they were consumed by the silence again. All Aiba could hear was the sound of his heart beating louder and louder. His mind was scrambled into a sudden panic which was concealed behind his blank expression. Aiba tried to focus on his memory of Sho at the library, the times he could’ve walked to him, with a smile, and say the things he wanted to tell Sho. Or the time during graduation day, when he could’ve wrote a message on Sho’s yearbook. He should’ve wrote what he had thought; how cool he was whenever he recited in class, how equally kind he was to everyone, and how hardworking he was when it came to both academics and club activities.

Aiba didn’t want to lose another chance again. Not anymore.

“Will you go out with me, Sakurai-san?”

Sho’s eyes flicked towards him, and Aiba could feel the heat filling up his cheeks. He couldn’t decipher Sho’s rather calm expression. At that moment, he was ready to give up; he already had taken all the risks. The only thing left was whatever Sho’s answer would be.

“I—“ Sho started to speak up, but the sound of footsteps approaching had interfered. Both of them whirled around to find that Nino had already come back.

“Hey, sorry if I took a long while,” He said. “Hope you guys didn’t get bored while I was away.”

Aiba shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Anyway, it’s getting late. We should probably go home quickly, right Sho?” He said with a smile. Sho all but stared at Nino wide-eyed. “By the way, it was nice meeting you, Aiba.”

“You too, Nino.”

Aiba said his farewells to the two teachers, though Sho had remained unresponsive, and they went their separate ways.

Aiba sat on bench and waited for the bus to arrive. The day has ended with nothing accomplished, nothing gained. Aiba looked up and stared at the florescent lights above him, letting the light pierce his eyes. And as he was beginning to lose hope, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was probably Jun, the worrier, or maybe his boss, or maybe his mom, who’s going to scold him for exhausting himself. But when he held up his phone to his face and looked at the screen, Aiba nearly screamed. _ **A message from Sakurai Sho.**_

Aiba quickly opened the message and read Sho’s text. As he finished reading, Aiba couldn’t help smile from ear to ear and let out a deep breath.

_‘I’d love to.’_

“I knew it.” Nino exclaimed as they walked back on their way home. “I _knew_ it would happen. I was hiding at the corner watching you guys, and just like that, it happened!”

“Oh, shut up, will you?” Sho grumbled and put his phone back into his pocket.

“It looks like love’s your top priority after all.”

Sho went to pinch Nino’s ear and had no intention of letting go, until Nino’s voice run out.

***

It was already 5:45pm, and Aiba couldn’t help but grow worried as time passed. He stood in front of the movie theatre, waiting for Sho to arrive. Only fifteen minutes more and the movie will start, and Aiba didn’t want to miss anything when he went to watch a movie. And, coincidentally, he found Sho running towards him. “Hey, sorry, I’m late.” Sho said and panted. “I had to finish all my assignments before coming here.”

“It’s alright.” Aiba said. “I already bought the tickets, so we can go straight inside.”

“I see.”

Aiba scanned Sho from head to toe. He wore a white tee with a jersey jacket, paired with camouflage pants and sneakers. “Nice outfit.” Aiba said.

“Is it?” Sho beamed. “I couldn’t really figure out what to wear. I thought it was too casual at first, but I went with it.”

Aiba simply nodded, but he agreed it looked too casual compared to what he was wearing: a dress shirt with a red knitted sweater, dark blue jeans, and loafers. “Yours looks nice too.” Sho said.

Aiba smiled. “Thanks.”

There was still a sense of awkwardness between them, even after they had entered the theatre. They didn’t get the time to talk or to even think of buying food since the movie started as soon as they sat down. They both had absorbed themselves in the movie, though, at least, from time to time, Aiba got a chance to glance at Sho’s defined profile while watching.

“Wasn’t that amazing?” Aiba said as they walked out of the theatre. “Especially that part near the end. Right, Sho?”

“It was alright, I guess.” Sho tilted his head to the side. “I just think there are too many plot holes.”

“But you gotta admit that it’s a great movie.”

Sho shook his head. “No, it was pretty mediocre if you ask me.”

Aiba blew a raspberry. “No way,” he said. “You only think that because you just don’t get it…"

Sho didn’t give any response and they walked on aimlessly without talking. As the silence grew longer, Aiba couldn’t shake off the feeling of guilt. “I’m sorry.” Aiba said. “I think I went too far…” He turned to where Sho was supposed to be but he was no longer there. “Sho?” Aiba whirled around in circles and he saw Sho checking out a small kiosk which sold various jewelleries. Aiba went towards him, and following where Sho’s gaze aimed at, he saw beaded bracelets of various colors.

“I’ll buy one for you if you like.” Aiba said.

“Don’t.” Sho said. “It looks too expensive.”

“It’s fine. Which one do you like?”

Sho then bit his lip and looked down to his feet. “The pink one.” He said, and Aiba caught his ears turning red.

“Alright.” Aiba said. He also picked out a bracelet for himself along with Sho’s and paid for it.

“Here you go.” Aiba put on the pink bracelet on Sho’s wrist. “Does it fit?”

Sho brought his wrist closer and gazed at the elegant bracelet. “Yeah, it fits perfectly.” He said and smiled.

“That’s good.” Aiba chuckled. “What do you think about mine? Pretty cool, huh?” He held up his wrist for Sho to see. It was a bracelet with each bead having various shades of green.

“Thank you.” Sho said.

Hearing those words had warmed up Aiba’s heart and his face had formed a grin. It was already late at night, and the mall was already closing. The crowds of people had left earlier after the movie ended, and the two of them were, in fact, one of the few who were left to leave the place. Though Aiba didn’t feel like leaving just yet, and neither did Sho, who slowly went near him. Aiba knew what it meant—what he wanted—so Aiba slightly tilted his head and let Sho huddle closer to him, until the tip of their shoes touched…

Aiba’s phone suddenly rang and he let out a groan. Sho then backed away, probably in embarrassment, as Aiba took out his phone and answered it. “Hello?” Aiba said.

 _“Hey, where are you?”_ Jun’s voice buzzed in his ear. _"I’ve been trying to contact you earlier; I need a little help here at the café.”_

“Uh, Jun, I’m not exactly near the café right now.” Aiba said.

_“Either way, could you come by?”_

“I’ll be there, probably later.”

_“Alright. I’ll wait right here.”_

“Okay, bye.” He then put down the phone.

“A friend of yours?” Sho asked.

“Yeah, he wants me to help him out with something.” Aiba said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He said. “Can I come with you?”

“You would?”

“Why not? I’d like to meet your friend.” He said with a smile.

“Alright.”

The two of them then walked to Jun’s café. Aiba immediately spotted Jun in front of the café and Jun’s face had lit up as soon as he saw him. “Aiba!” He cried out. “Thank goodness you’re here.” Jun then ran and embraced him. “The light-up sign that I purchased just arrived, but it’s not working. You know how to fix it?”

“Well, I’ll try.” Aiba said.

“Oh, hello.” Jun said as he realized Sho’s presence.

“Hello.” Sho greeted.

“Oh, Jun, this is Sakurai Sho.” Aiba said. “He was a classmate of mine during high school, and we just started dating recently.”

“Oh…” Jun chuckled. “Well, that’s lovely.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sho said.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Matsumoto Jun, by the way. Would you like to go inside and have some coffee?”

“Oh, no thank you. I’ll be going ahead anyway. I just wanted to walk Aiba back to his home.”

“I see.” Jun nodded.

“You sure you’ll be fine going home alone? Don’t you want me to walk you back to the train station?” Aiba said.

Sho shook his head. “I’m used to it.”

“Alright, take care.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Aiba watched Sho walk away from them and he whirled around to find Jun staring at him. “So, you were on a date today, huh?” Jun said. “Well, no wonder you didn’t answer.”

“Yeah.”

“So, did it go well?”

Aiba all but sighed. “Well, I hope it was enough…”

Sho went to the computer lab and reached for the doorknob, but when he twisted it, it wouldn’t open. Sho scratched his head, wondering why the door would be locked; when Nino would always leave it open until five. He decided to knock on the door, however there was no response. Sho knocked on the door again, frustrated, but no one came to open the door. Sho sighed and went to put his ear on the door to hear if there were anyone inside. He closed his eyes to focus, and soon he heard footsteps approaching. Sho quickly backed away from the door and it swung open. However, to Sho’s surprise, it wasn’t Nino.

“Oh, good afternoon, Sakurai-san.” Ohno greeted.

“Good afternoon…” Sho noticed that Ohno’s hair looked messy. His collar of his shirt, too, was uneven and his tie wasn’t adjusted properly.

Ohno chuckled, his cheeks burning brightly. “Yeah, I was just about to leave anyway.” He said. “Nino’s in his quarters.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Ohno bowed his head and stepped out of the room. For a while, Sho watched him try to fix his hair as he walked away. Sho went straight ahead to Nino’s cubicle. He found Nino sitting on his chair as always, but at least this time, he was wide awake. Though his hair wasn’t as messy as Ohno’s, Nino was busy fixing his tie and some buttons on his shirt were unfastened. “A teacher’s supposed to be teaching, not flirting with other teachers.” Sho said.

“Yeah, says the man who’s crazy about this Aiba Masaki guy.” Nino said.

“I’m not crazy.”

“Okay, so what happened during your date?” Nino asked.

“You explain yourself first,” Sho said, but Nino just glared at him and had his arms crossed. Sho rolled his eyes. “Fine, since you asked,” Sho said. “We went on a movie date, he bought me a bracelet, and I walked him home.”

“And?”

“That was it.”

“Not even a kiss?”

Sho sighed. “Supposedly, yes. But someone got in the way.”

“Now you know how I feel.”

“How on earth was I supposed to know earlier?” Sho exclaimed.

“Anyway, don’t be so hard on yourself. Not all first dates go smoothly, you’ll be fine.” Nino said as he had finished fastening the buttons on his shirt.

“Yeah, but for how long? What if he loses interest?”

“Hey, hey, relax…” Nino proceeded to place his hand on Sho’s shoulder but Sho brushed it off.

“Hey, don’t touch me with your dirty hands.” He said.

“It’s clean.” Nino said and showed his palm of his hands. “We didn’t go _that_ far, pervert.” He then sticks his tongue out. “Anyway, stop worrying about such things, alright?” Nino said and patted Sho’s back.

Sho then nodded. “So, what did you guys exactly do earlier?” He asked.

Nino narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

“Come on, tell me!”

“Figure it out yourself, idiot.”

Aiba had his eyes focused on the screen once again. Since the first reading was a success, his confidence had boosted up since that day. After their first date, however, it looked like his luck had run out. And, coincidently, that _was_ Capricorn’s reading last time. Aiba knew that this time he had to take precautions; he didn’t want his next date to be another lacklustre. Words and ideas kept popping up in his mind while he went on writing: about where to go, when, and what should be said in the reading for Aquarius—for Sho. He wanted to make sure that Sho would be convinced that he is the one for him, and only him, making it all seem like it was meant to be. A smile formed on Aiba’s lips as he imagined how much Sho will be having soon.

Aiba then heard a knock from his front door. “Come in!” Aiba yelled, and the door swung open.

“Hey, don’t just leave your door unlocked.” Jun said as he walked into Aiba’s bedroom. “What if someone comes in without you knowing?”

“Well, you’re the only one who comes here anyway.” Aiba said. “No one else.”

“Yet.” Jun said. “Anyway, I bought some dinner for you, wanna eat already?”

“Oh, yes.” Aiba stood up from his seat. “Let me just set up the table.” He went to the corner of his room and grabbed hold of his foldable table and placed it in the center of the room. “There you go.” Aiba said. “So, what’s for dinner, tonight?”

Jun was standing in front of his desk and appeared to be reading something. “Jun?” Aiba walked towards him and he finds his notepad in Jun’s hands.

“What is all of this?” Jun said.

“T-that’s nothing,” Aiba attempted to grab the notepad but Jun dodged his attack. At that point, Aiba could only watch Jun carefully read each page of all the schemes and all the planned drafts of the fake readings he had just written down.

“Aiba, what on earth?” Jun said, and shoved the notepad to Aiba’s chest. “What’s gotten into that head of yours this time, huh?”

Aiba shut his eyes and groaned. “Jun, please…” He said.

“Come on, you’ve already been into enough trouble. You can’t just…”

“Make fake horoscope readings…” Aiba helped finished Jun’s sentence.

“Not just that!” Jun then brought his hands over Aiba’s shoulders. “You _can’t_ lie. What if your boss finds out?”

“That won’t be a problem. He doesn’t care about accuracy; he just wants a good and entertaining article.”

“Yeah, an article full of filthy lies is what he wants. Aiba, you’ve been writing since you were in high school! You know better than that scumbag boss of yours!”

“I know it’s wrong, but what choice do I have?”

“Alright, fine, but what about Sho, huh? What do you think he’d feel about all of this?”

“That’s not a problem either. He doesn’t know… He doesn’t know about my job as a writer.”

Jun brought his hands over his head and paced back and forth around the room. His hands went sliding down until it was over his cheeks and he groaned. “Why, why?” He cried out. “Why has it all come to this?”

“Jun, please, calm down—“

“How could I?” He exclaimed. “Isn’t what you’re doing a crime? Why are you even doing it? And to believe someone like you wanted to be a writer...” Jun then bent down on his knees and sat down on the floor, with his hands covering his face.

“I’m sorry…” Aiba said, his eyes had gotten watery. “I just wanted to be closer to Sho, that’s why. He believes in horoscopes, and if he finds out that we’re not compatible then…”

Jun looked up at him, removing his hands from his face. Aiba couldn’t help but let the tears fall down from his face as he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Oh, Jun,” Aiba bawled. “What should I do?” Jun stood up and went to embrace him, and Aiba quickly hugged him back. Jun whispered him to calm down and gently patted the back of his head.

“You’re going to be okay, alright?” Jun said. “I’m going to make sure of that.”

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.” Aiba pleaded, looking into Jun’s eyes. “Please, Jun, for my sake…”

Jun sighed. “Promise.”

***

_**Surprises await you this week! Just keep looking out for it for you might miss your only chance…** _

Sho watched his students attentively from his desk. He witnessed how they scratched their heads, bit their nails (or maybe, the end of their pens), and look at the clock above him from time to time as they answered their quiz. And Sho couldn’t help but also sit on his chair impatiently. All he kept thinking about was Aiba and his longing for them to meet up again had grown as days passed. He wondered if Aiba had lost interest in him because of last time. After their date, Aiba hadn’t contacted him since and Sho couldn’t help but worry every time. He glanced at the pink bracelet worn on his wrist which he kept hidden inside his sleeve. Sho still remembered how his heart fluttered when Aiba had put on the bracelet for him. He quickly put his hand over his mouth when he nearly chuckled out loud at the mere thought of it.

Suddenly, Sho’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Sho took it out and looked at the screen and, to his surprise, he found a message from Aiba: _Hey, are you free today?_

Sho tried to calm his trembling heart as he typed in his reply. _Just have to finish my last class. Where and what time do you want us to meet?_ He then pressed send. Sho only looked away from his phone for a moment, and his phone vibrated again. Sho’s eyes widened as he read the reply:

_Right now, in front of the school gate._

At that point, Sho had already forgotten where he was and squealed. He was then met with the stares of his students. Sho cleared his throat, “Sorry.” He said. “You now have only 10 minutes to finish the test…”

As soon as class had ended, Sho rushed out of the room and ran through the corridor faster than any of the students passing by. Nearing the school gates, he spots Aiba waiting there, just like he said he was. Sho then stopped and took a deep breath when he reached him. “Are you alright?” Aiba asked.

“Yeah…” Sho huffed. “Took you long enough.”

Aiba gently smiled. “Sorry, I had gotten a bit busy lately.”

Sho then tilted his head. “I didn’t know you had a car.”

Aiba, who had his lower body leaning against the car’s door, looked at the shiny black convertible behind him. “I don’t always use it. But since it’s a special occasion…” Aiba’s voice had drifted off and his eyes were on Sho who raised his eyebrows. “Do you wanna ride?” He said with a weird western accent to which Sho laughed at.

“Where to?” Sho asked.

“You’ll figure it out soon.”

Sho shook his head. “Well, aren’t you a man full of surprises...”

“A science museum? Oh, give me a break.” Sho exclaimed.

Aiba had finished parking the car and went out of it. “You’re going to love it, I promise.” He said, and went to open the door for Sho to get out.

“I sure hope so.” Sho stepped out of the car.

They had arrived at the ticket booth. Thankfully, there weren’t much people falling in line. After all, they had arrived at the place during night time. “One ticket please.” Aiba said to the cashier. “Thank you.”

“One?” Sho said. “Why only one?”

Aiba blinked and offered the ticket. “For you.”

“But, what about—wait; you went first to this place before bringing me here, didn’t you?”

Aiba hummed. “You could say that.”

“You sly fox!” Sho nudged him and Aiba cracked a smile.

“What? I had to take some precautions.” He said, and showed the stamp mark on his wrist.

They went inside the museum and were greeted by life-sized replicas of dinosaur fossils and eerily realistic-looking animal sculptures. “Typical.” Sho said.

“You really are impatient, aren’t you?” Aiba replied.

“Just stating the facts.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to take you to all the sections of the place. In fact, there’s one place I only want to show you.”

“Then take me there.”

“Alright, alright.” Aiba grabbed hold of Sho’s hand and led him there. Aiba didn’t immediately realize what he had done until Sho gestured to interlock their fingers. It had caught Aiba off guard, and he felt his cheeks had warmed up. During the first date, Sho didn’t seem to be the affectionate type, but Aiba guessed that Sho was starting to warm up to him.

They finally reached a small dome located near the center of the museum. Aiba slid the black curtains aside and the two of them entered the dome. Darkness was all around and the only light they had was the pathway of lights which illuminated the floor. They walked along the pathway until they had come across a table of buttons and switches.

“What’s all these?” Sho asked. But Aiba gave no answer and instead flipped one of the switches.

Suddenly, little dots of white light appeared on the ceiling and were constantly fading and reappearing. Aiba glanced at Sho who stared at them with awe. “They’re stars…” He said and chuckled.

“Yes.” Aiba smiled. “They’re quite cute too, aren’t they?”

“Yeah they’re pretty too.” Sho beamed.

Although the scenery in front of them was mesmerizing, Aiba couldn’t help but just gaze at the man beside him. To Aiba, Sho was the only thing that shone the brightest among everything else. Seeing that beautiful smile on Sho’s face made his heart ache. “You can use the buttons to navigate the constellations.” Aiba said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, the name’s actually written below each button, though the text is quite small. I tried reading it earlier but my eyesight isn’t really the best.” Aiba then pressed one of the buttons, and one of the constellations remained brightly lit while all the others faded out.

“That’s The Big Dipper.” Sho said.

“Yup.”

“Could I try?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Sho pressed a few buttons and each constellation did the same like earlier. They saw Orion, Pegasus, and even Hercules shine against the vast black plane. “I wonder if they also have the zodiac’s here.” Sho said.

“Well, that’s exactly the point why I brought you here.” Aiba then gestured to the buttons on his side and pressed one of them. Sho looked up and found a triangular shaped constellation shining brightly above them. “That’s your sign, Capricorn.”

“Yup.” Aiba nodded. “Wanna do the honors to see yours?” He said, and Sho simply pressed the button for Aquarius.

The constellation then appeared right beside Capricorn, and soon both constellations simultaneously twinkled. It felt reassuring for Aiba to see their constellations next to each other, the same way he and Sho were right now. Unconsciously, Aiba looked to his side and found Sho looking back. Both of them quickly averted their eyes from the other. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Sho said.

“You’re welcome.” Aiba said. “I just thought it’d be easier than bringing you to my hometown and do real stargazing.”

“You’d do that?”

Aiba nodded.

Sho then chuckled. “That would be fun actually, going to your hometown. Maybe during summer vacation, we could go.”

“You would?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I want to know more about you too, you know. It doesn’t have to be all about me.”

“Well, I’m glad that you want to know more about me then.” Aiba felt the warmth on his cheeks again. He looked to his side, and Sho was still looking up at the _sky_ , at the _stars_. He was lost in his own mind, and Aiba wondered what he was thinking about right now. He wanted to know what Sho really thought about him, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, so he gently placed his hand on Sho’s shoulder, causing Sho to turn and look towards him. As Aiba went closer, his other hand had flipped the switch and everything turned dark again.

Aiba’s heartbeat quickened when he felt Sho’s tender lips against his. His hands roamed to find Sho’s nape and caressed it. All of Aiba’s worries had started to fade away, and even more when he felt that warm embrace. He knew Sho was starting to feel at ease, letting Aiba take full lead. And as their chests had touched, Aiba felt not only the beating of his own heart, but also Sho’s.

A tune coming from the outside reached their ears, signalling that the museum would close soon, but they weren’t bothered by it. After all, it could wait.


	2. Chapter 2

A month had passed since Sho and Aiba started dating. Things were going pretty well for the couple; they’ve gone to amusement parks, went to watch theatre plays, and even went to a concert of a famous idol group. Of course, Sho would go on and ramble about it to Nino, who was very much pleased… at first. Ever since Sho had gotten a boyfriend, their time with each other had somehow become unnecessary. Sho would always be on his phone, wherever and whenever. Nino would always feel alienated during those instances, because all of Sho’s attention was on the phone—all the attention went to Aiba Masaki. And worse, Nino wasn’t the only one who noticed this but even the students and their fellow teachers too. The girls would tease Nino every time in class, claiming he was jealous now that Sho was dating someone else.

Nino wasn’t jealous. Well, he was, but for a different reason. Right after the day they almost got caught by Sho, Ohno had drawn a line and forbid Nino from interacting with him during work hours. And with Sho who was all over Aiba, Nino basically had no one else to turn to. In fact, Nino had grown to hate Aiba. Even mentioning his name would make Nino feel like barfing. Another thing that Nino hated were those horoscope readings from Sho’s favorite magazine. There was something weird about the readings that made Nino tick off. He figured it might be because all the readings led to the mention of Aiba doing this, Aiba doing that. Aiba, Aiba, Aiba, Aiba…

Nino was at the verge of pulling his hairs off. It drove him crazy that Sho actually believed that Aiba was his destined person since he fit all the characteristics and other stuff mentioned in the readings. It was all too good to be true…

“Wow, I can’t believe the school festival’s gonna start in a few days.” Sho said. “Time flies so fast, don’t you think?”

‘Maybe if you had started to pay more attention to your surroundings, maybe you _would_ have noticed.’ Nino thought. “Yeah, tell me about it.” He replied. “Got any plans during the festival?”

Sho shrugged.

“Well, same here then.”

“Oh,” Sho’s face had lit up. “Maybe I should ask Aiba if he’s got any plans.” Sho took out his phone from his pocket and all Nino could do was roll his eyes.

“I’m gonna go out and buy a drink.” Nino said and stepped out of his cubicle.

“Alright.” Sho had his eyes still focused on the screen. “See you later then.”

Nino closed the door behind him. He didn’t know what the point of Sho going in the computer lab was anymore. Sho barely even acknowledged his presence, and yet it seemed necessary for him to come in and stay just like that.

Nino longed for his best friend to come back. The awkward but cheerful man who would always laugh at his blunt jokes and would scold him for doing nasty things; Nino wanted that Sakurai Sho to come back.

_“Itadakimasu!”_ Aiba said and bowed his head to Jun, who laughed at the gesture.

“Just eat up already!” Jun said.

“Yeah, yeah, I will.” Aiba went to reach for his bowl of rice and his chopsticks. Tonight’s dinner was chicken cutlet with curry prepared by Jun. The crunching sound of the chicken’s golden brown breadcrumbs against the chopsticks satisfied Aiba very much. More so as he bit it down and let the meat juices flow inside his mouth.

“How is it?” Jun asked.

“It tastes delicious!” Aiba beamed. “You should expand your café into a restaurant.”

“No way,” Jun chuckled. “I’m not that into cooking.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Nope.”

“But you always cook for me though.”

“It’s because you can’t cook for yourself.”

“What are you talking about?” Aiba exclaimed. “I can cook fine meals for myself; I don’t really need you to do it.”

“It was you who suggested it first that I cook meals for you, don’t you remember? You even requested me to make _bento_ for you since you were so busy back then.”

“I did?” Aiba furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t really remember; my memory’s gotten a bit blurry.”

“Yeah, blurry enough to remember that Sho was your classmate.” Jun scoffed.

“I’ve known Sho since the 7th grade. We were almost like family back then, so of course I’ll remember. I just don’t remember little things like that…”

All of a sudden, Jun turned quiet. Aiba wasn’t bothered at all, not even a little bit. With that, the younger man finally took his bowl of rice and chopsticks, and began to eat, at a slow pace however.

“Oh yeah, Sho invited me to their school’s festival, wanna go?” Aiba asked.

Jun then swallowed his food. “Me? Going with you?” He said. “Wouldn’t that be…weird?”

Aiba’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why would it be weird?”

“I mean, Sho probably wants it to be just the two of you.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. Sho himself told me I could bring some friends along.” Aiba took a sip of his beer.

Jun placed his bowl and chopsticks back on the table. “So, you’re really not going to tell him?” He asked.

“About what?”

“About you being the horoscope writer.”

Hearing those words, Aiba’s smile at once turned into a frown. He was once again reminded of his guilt which dwelled within—the burden which he had to carry until his contract with Kagoshima ended. “I can’t.” Aiba said.

“Come on, you have to tell him one day. Sooner or later, he’s going to find out about it.”

Aiba sighed. “Well, how exactly am I going to tell him then? Go on, tell me.” Once again, Jun was speechless. “Just as I thought, you can’t think of an answer either.” Aiba said.

Jun stood up and picked up Aiba’s empty bowl and chopsticks, along with his own, and walked out of Aiba’s room. Aiba stared at the table as he heard the sound of running water coming from the kitchen sink. Frustrated, Aiba ran his hand through his hair and played with it by twirling the strands around his fingers. The pressure took over and ate him up. He just needed to wait for the contract to end, and then everything will turn back to normal. He promised himself that since the night he decided to write all those fake readings.

Aiba looked at the green bracelet on his wrist and held onto it, clutching it tightly around his fingers. He wasn’t ready to let go yet. He wanted to tell the truth badly, but he didn’t want to take any more risks. And if he’d tell Sho about it right now, just when they’re at the peak of their romantic relationship, all would be lost. He needed more time, just a bit more and he’ll be ready…

The television screen constantly blinked as Ohno scanned through each channel, looking for something to watch. He was sitting near the edge of the bed; Nino, on the other hand, was playing games on his phone. “Ah, shit!” He said. “I died again, dammit.”

Ohno quietly made a smirk hearing Nino’s bemoaning. On the bright side, he had finally found a variety show worth watching to pass the time. Ohno kept laughing at the exaggerated expressions and also the silly difficult tasks which idols and comedians alike had to go through. All the while, he hadn’t noticed that Nino had his phone down, placing it aside on the bed. Before he knew it, Ohno was captured within Nino’s arms. He tried to shrug him off, but Nino wouldn’t budge.

Ohno sighed. “Nino, please,” He said. “I’m not in the mood today.”

“I know. I just wanted to touch you.”

“Geez, you miss me that much already?”

“I got lonely.” Nino said. “Since Sho’s occupied with his boyfriend, I have no one to talk to…”

“Oh, yeah, I heard about it. The students even told me how grumpy you were whenever they mention it in class.”

“It’s because they think I like Sho, that’s why they make such a big fuss about it.”

Ohno chuckled. “Well, you guys are close after all.”

“Not anymore, and it’s all thanks to his stupid boyfriend.”

Ohno hummed. “I wonder what Sho’s boyfriend is like…”

“Please don’t even bother thinking that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not worth it. He’s kind of a boring guy.”

“Oh, so you’ve met him already? What’s his name?”

“Aiba Masaki.”

Ohno felt the inside of his chest tighten. He hadn’t heard that name in a long while, and hearing it now seemed so nostalgic, along with memories which flashed in his mind instantly. “Oh, I see.” Ohno said. “He has a very nice name…” Feeling heavy, he lied down on Nino’s chest, trying to find comfort in the softness of Nino’s sweater, in order to get Aiba Masaki out of his mind.

“What’s wrong?” Nino asked.

Ohno shook his head. “Nothing. I just feel a bit sleepy right now that’s why.”

“Alright.” It was reassuring for Ohno to hear that from Nino, who then looked away and focused on the screen in front of him.

The feeling of worry went over his face again. He didn’t want to tell Nino about Aiba; there wasn’t any need to tell him anyway, or so he thought. But, if he were to stumble upon Aiba again, Ohno wouldn’t know what to do. Moreover, he wouldn’t even know how to face Sho if he were to know about his past relationship with Aiba. Ohno’s heart trembled at such thoughts. He looked up at Nino, who was unaware of his inner conflict, and lingered his gaze on him, hoping Nino would look back and ask him again if he were okay. But time had gotten the better of him, and unwillingly, Ohno closed his eyes and fell asleep.

***

The sun shone brightly upon the school campus like Sho had hoped it would. There was not a single cloud anywhere in the vast blue sky above, and that was indeed a good sign. The booths had already been put up on the field, and the rides too have started running. As joyous music came out through the speakers, the school festival has been brought to life.

Culture Day was everyone’s favorite day, without a doubt. The excitement in the faces of both students and teachers was enough proof to say so, and Sho was no exception. Although he was well-known for his reticent personality, the cheerful grin on his face was no stranger to anyone when it was Culture Day. And Sho was blooming more than ever this year because Aiba will be coming to join in the fun later.

As always, a slouching Nino stood by his side, eating a riceball which he bought from one of the food stalls. He was fully aware of the traces of sadness on Nino’s face since he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the festival without Ohno. And Nino’s endless sighing was becoming a rain on Sho’s parade, much to Sho’s displeasure. Even if he tried to cheer Nino up, Sho couldn’t convince him otherwise.

From the school gates, Sho saw Aiba, along with his friend, Jun, approaching. As he waved his hand, Sho quickly went to accompany them. “You’re here,” Sho said. “You’re finally here.” He was about to open his arms and embrace Aiba, but then he remembered that they were inside the campus, and so put his arms behind him. It was quite a shame, but Sho didn’t mind, Aiba’s loving gaze was enough to satisfy him.

“The school’s indeed livelier than usual, just like you said.” Aiba chuckled.

Sho gave a nod. “I’m really so glad you guys came to celebrate with us. Thank you.” He said to the both of them.

Aiba and Jun’s gazes passed by Sho’s, and their attention now focused on the man who slowly came up to them, whose sullen face remained unchanged among a crowd of smiles. “And so we finally meet again, Aiba-san.” Nino said and crossed his arms.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Aiba said and bowed his head.

“Indeed.” Nino put up a smirk. He then looked at Aiba’s friend, who was very much flustered by his presence.

“I’m Matsumoto Jun, Aiba’s friend.” He said to Nino. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ninomiya Kazunari, Nino for short.”

“So, what do you guys think?” Sho asked.

“Well, the food stalls are sure making me hungry.” Aiba said.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll love the food they’re selling. Especially, the crab cream croquette made by the students.”

“That sounds lovely.” Jun beamed.

“Well, I’m in the mood for just the usual takoyaki, if that’ll be alright.”

“It’s fine. I’ll take you to the takoyaki stand then. Ah, but the crab cream croquette is on the opposite side…” Sho then turned to Nino. “Nino, could you take Jun with you to the croquette stand?”

“Huh?” Nino’s raised a brow. “Why me? Why don’t you just take them both there yourself?”

Sho huddled Nino closer and whispered to him. “Come on, don’t be such a brat and let Jun keep you company. It’s not like a day without Ohno’s going to kill you.”

“You’re only doing this because you’re jealous, aren’t you?”

Sho’s face gradually started to heat up. “I’m not!” He said, although his actions say otherwise. He still couldn’t forget how Jun delayed their first kiss and even hugged Aiba in front of his face. Sho knew it was unintentional, but the childish part of him couldn’t help but be ill towards him.

“Alright, fine.” Nino said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll take care of him for you.” Sho then gave a sigh of relief and smiled.

Sho turned back towards Aiba and Jun. “Since going back and forth around the campus would be tiring, I think it’s best if we split ways.” He said. “Nino will be the one to escort you, Matsumoto-san.”

“Oh, thank you, but is it really okay?” Jun said and looked at Aiba, who just smiled and wrapped his shoulder around him.

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Aiba said. “I’m sure you and Nino will get along quickly.” Jun then nodded and followed suit, trailing behind Nino, who had already gone ahead of him.

“You two have fun!” Sho yelled and watched as Nino and Jun blend into the crowd. Sho whirled around and found Aiba looking back at him with a worried face.

“You sure it’s a good idea to leave them together?” Aiba said. “They only just met, and Jun doesn’t seem warmed up to him either.”

“I’m sure they’re going to be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

They went to the takoyaki stand, where Aiba had ordered one huge takoyaki which was as big as his palm. Sho laughed as he watched Aiba try to figure out how to eat it with a tiny spork. “So, how is it?” Sho asked when Aiba finally managed to get a bite.

“Too much sauce.” Aiba said with his mouth full. “Still good though.” He took some tissue and wiped the sauce off the corner of his lips.

Sho took a spork of his own and scooped about a quarter of the takoyaki and ate it. “You’re right.” He then nodded. Aiba chuckled, and Sho eventually laughed along. The two of them managed to finish up the takoyaki quickly and with pretty much nothing left to do, Sho held onto Aiba’s wrist. “Let’s go.” He said.

“Where?” Aiba asked, and Sho shrugged.

“Somewhere around the campus,” Sho said. “Come on.”

Sho ran and dragged Aiba along. They ran away from the crowds and went into the school building. They went up a few floors and roamed along the empty hallway and the two of them stopped to look down below and gaze upon the busy festival. At that point, it all had seemed surreal for Sho to be in two worlds at once. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” He said.

“Yeah,” Aiba said. “Sure feels good to feel young again.” Sho then smiled and the two shared a kiss.

Sho pulled back and let out a satisfied sigh. He looked up at Aiba, only to find him staring aimlessly pass through him. Sho wanted to ask what was wrong, but instead, he turned around to where Aiba looked. Ohno stood near the stairs and seemed to be holding big sheets of papers in his hands.

“Ohno-san!” Sho called out to him.

Ohno looked at the two of them with an alarmed face, as if startled by their presence. “Oh, um, this is Aiba Masaki.” Sho said. “He’s my boyfriend.”

Ohno only gave a nod, with his gaze shifting back and forth to Sho and Aiba. It was unusual for Ohno to stay silent; Sho had never seen this side of him until now.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Aiba spoke up first. “Ohno-san.” He then bowed his head.

“You too.” Ohno replied.

“What are those, by the way?” Sho asked.

“Oh, these,” Ohno then held up the papers. “They’re for the art gallery. I haven’t finished putting all the artworks up, that’s why I happened to pass by.”

“Is that so? We could help you out if you want.”

Ohno shook his head. “It’s alright, I’m sure I can manage…”

“But they’re so many, it would be much faster if we do it together.”

“Well, I—“

A familiar melody rang out, and realizing it was his phone, Sho quickly took it out. “Hello?” He said. “Eh? The science exhibit is going to open already? …Oh, no, I’m sorry. I’ll be there in a sec. Alright, bye.” He took down his phone and turned towards Aiba. “Hey, you don’t mind helping Ohno without me, right?” Sho asked.

Aiba glanced at Ohno for a moment, the two of them silently staring at each other. “Not at all.” Aiba replied.

“Alright.” Sho nodded. “I’ll be back before you know it!” He then started running down the stairs, without looking back. The way Aiba looked at Ohno with such a meaningful gaze had stirred Sho on the inside. He tried to put the thought behind him, deeming he was just overthinking it. Either way, he trusted Ohno very much, and he trusted Aiba too… or did he? Sho stopped his tracks, pausing for a while as he pondered at the thought. Just how much did he know about Aiba and was it enough for him to be trusted? Sho shook his head and stopped his questioning. He needed to do more important things rather than let his mind linger on such feelings, and so he continued to run and went out to the field…

There were cheers and laughter all around the campus. Nino watched all the students, faculty members, and the school’s visitors having a great time with all the delicious foods to offer, the live performances at the school field, and, of course, the magnificent and well-managed rides like the mini Ferris wheel, which was as tall as the school building itself, a mini rollercoaster ride, and a few bouncing houses in each corner for the middle school students.

Despite all that, Nino wasn’t happy. He wanted to be, for his students, at least; and for Sho, for his sake, since he’s gotten preoccupied with Aiba Masaki. With Ohno out of his sight, there seems like nothing to look forward to today. And he has to spend it with a man he barely knew, and only met today to be exact. Matsumoto Jun, if he remembered correctly, was the man’s name. It was surprising to think that Aiba had brought himself company coming here, and yet, he left his friend of his with him. It turned out that Aiba was more of a jerk than Nino thought he’d be, leaving his friend to spend time with his lover—making Matsumoto Jun a mere third-wheel.

Although Jun was a friend of Aiba, Nino could sense that the young guy was different and much more likable compared to the latter. It was sympathy, probably, that made him think so.

“So, Matsumoto-san, what exactly do you do? What kind of work?” Nino asked.

“Oh, I have my own café business, not far from here. You can come in and visit anytime.” And automatically, like it was a part of his system, Jun pulled out a card from his pocket and gave it to Nino. “Here,” he said. “The address is written on the card.”

Nino took a glance, though he didn’t bother reading what was written, and shoved it in his pocket.

“How about you, Ninomiya-sensei? What subject do you teach?”

“Computer science. Also, as I said earlier, Nino is fine.”

“Alright, Nino-sensei.” Jun then beamed with a smile. His charm was captivating, even for Nino, and it was unlikely to think that this man was friends with someone like Aiba. Unless…

“Mind if I ask, Matsumoto-san, do you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend perhaps?”

“Neither.” He said. “I’m single.”

“How strange…” Nino remarked. “For someone as attractive as you, it’s strange.”

Jun’s eyebrows furrowed, gathering the wrinkles on his forehead. “Well, hopefully a time will come when I’ll have a lover.” Jun said. “Why, are you single, Nino-sensei?”

“No, I’m not. I’m dating someone.”

“Oh, I see.” Jun chuckled. “For a second there, I thought you kind of liked me, since you asked such a question. Is it a fellow teacher, perhaps?”

Nino slowly nodded. “That’s a good guess.” He said. “I still can’t believe you’re single, I really wonder why… Is there someone you like, Matsumoto-san?”

Jun’s smile disappeared in a blink of an eye, and a gloom went over his face. He wore an expression sullener than Nino would be able to pull off. And Nino simply stared at him, anticipating what Jun would do next. However, it seemed Jun decided to keep his mouth shut.

“So, there _is_ someone.” Nino said, smirking. “That’s very understandable. You’re reserving yourself for the person you like, that’s very nice and even cute actually.” He patted Jun’s shoulder, but Jun remained unresponsive. “Let me guess. It’s Aiba Masaki, isn’t it?” He then asked. It was only then that Jun’s expression change; he could clearly see the stir of panic and shock as Jun looked at him with such wide eyes.

Nino tried to hold in a chuckle and nudged Jun’s back. “Dude, lighten up.” Nino said. “I was just messing with you. Don’t worry; I get jokes like these all the time from people thinking I like Sho. And heck, since he and Aiba are so madly in love, I don’t think someone like you would even stand a chance…” He then laughed out loud.

“And I think I won’t even stand a chance either.” Nino continued. “You know, because I’m his best friend, who’s always been there for him, and then his boyfriend’s gonna snatch him away from me like that? It’s kind of ironic. You know, I remember that time when I—“

All at once, Nino felt something hard on his face. It happened so fast that the shock in him made him feel the pain a little later, once he had hit flat on the ground. His face, specifically the part near his eye, suddenly felt a bit hot. And when he touched it, it stung very badly. When finally sat up, he saw Jun with fire in his eyes, concealed by the tears which were stuck in his eyes.

And just when Nino was starting to warm up to the guy…

Nino cursed at him out loud, probably loud enough that everyone else in the area had heard it. But Nino didn’t care, not anymore. Sho would get mad at him for this, and Ohno more so. The thought of Ohno just made his heart ache for a moment. He wanted to escape the situation and run crying to wherever Ohno was, but his boiling anger filled up his mind.

And Nino charged forward…

“There,” Aiba said. “It’s all done.”

The classroom walls were pasted and decorated with student’s artworks, from youngest to oldest. Each picture had their own special style, their own special skill. It took him back to the times he was still in the entertainment industry as a personal manager, back when the idols he had handled were still young. Each sticky note had a distinguishable and unique handwriting, and it was heart-warming how some would draw in emoticons or even put stickers in their messages. Aiba sighed as remembered how time flies so fast.

Ohno held out his camera and took pictures. Every click and flash from the camera made Aiba’s heart quiver. It’s been so long since he had seen those hands, and to think that he used to hold those hands… “It’s really a small world, isn’t it?” Aiba said. “You know, I never thought we’d meet again like this. Especially after all we’d been through.”

“You could’ve said no.” Ohno said with his gaze remaining on the camera.

“Eh?”

“You heard me.”

“It would’ve been wrong of me to refuse, either way.” Aiba went closer to take a glimpse of the image Ohno’s had taken. “So, you still do photography?”

“Of course, I do.” He said. “I still get some offers here and there, but recently, it’s not enough. So, I had to take this job.”

Aiba nodded. “I understand.”

“And let me guess, you’re still working in that agency, aren’t you?” Ohno said. “Man, what a crazy world we live in. It must have been a shock for you that one of your idols had a threesome.”

Aiba narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “I… wasn’t aware.” He couldn’t believe what he had heard. He knew those boys ever since they were still trainees, and thinking that they were now having a bad time had made Aiba grew anxious, knowing that he couldn’t be by their side to comfort them or to give them advice.

“I don’t think anyone else was aware either.” Ohno said. “I mean, he’s one of Japan’s top idols. Who would’ve thought, right? Then again, that agency of yours is super strict. The man probably couldn’t keep it in his pants. Well, I’m sure he’s learned his lesson.”

“I’m sure he did.” Aiba said and did wish that he was right.

Indeed, a lot had happened and changed within a year, and yet, here they were at this very moment. Aiba glanced at Ohno, who was still as beautiful as ever and was aging gracefully. It seemed that time led them here, despite being on different paths now. Although, he had no romantic attraction towards Ohno, Aiba still had sympathy left for him. “I’m sorry.” Aiba said.

Ohno had his eyebrows raised. “Again?”

“I never got to apologize properly back then.” Aiba continued. “I wasn’t able to spend more time with you because of my schedule. Our relationship never felt like one because of that. It must’ve been hard for you to cope with me at that time. And for that, I really am sorry…”

His gaze had left the camera and was now focused on Aiba. He feared that Ohno was annoyed or maybe tired of his never-ending apologies, but the soft and tender gaze in front of him had lightened him up. “It’s ironic, how things have turned out, don’t you think?” Ohno said. “You’re currently dating Sho, and I’m now dating his best friend…”

“Wait, you’re dating Nino?”

Ohno nodded.

“How is he?”

“He’s more stubborn than you’ll ever be.”

Aiba chuckled. “Really?”

“Even since the first day of school, he’s always been following me. Even if I told him to go away, he wouldn’t.”

“But you like him?”

Ohno gave out a sigh and briefly smiled. “Yeah, I do, very much…” However, the sorrow in his eyes gave away the burden he was trying to hide. “I just don’t know how to tell him about you.” He said.

“You don’t need to. But, you don’t have to be afraid of telling him either.” Aiba took hold of Ohno’s hands. “It might be hard to believe, but I’m glad that you’ve found someone. I’m happy for you.”

It was only then that Ohno was able to smile widely. “Me too.” He said.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching and echoing through the hallway and Aiba quickly let go of Ohno’s hands. As Ohno turned towards the door, a student rushed and stopped at the doorway, gasping for air. “Ohno-sensei!” He cried out. “There’s a commotion happening in the school grounds.”

“What happened?” Ohno asked. “Are there students fighting again?”

“No, worse. Ninomiya-sensei got into a fight with an outsider.”

“What?” Ohno exclaimed.

“Oh no…” Aiba gasped. “I knew I shouldn’t have left him with Nino.”

“Him?” Ohno turned to Aiba. “What do you mean?”

Aiba groaned. “I brought MatsuJun with me here.” He said. “I didn’t want to leave him behind but…”

“Oh God,” Ohno shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The student led them and the three went to the scene. From afar, Aiba and Ohno could clearly see the crowd surrounding Nino and Jun. As they moved closer, they witnessed the two tackling each other on the ground. Nino had grabbed hold of Jun’s locks and the younger man screamed, the sound of his voice had caused Aiba’s heart to waver. Aiba then plunged into the warzone and attempted to pull the two apart. “Let him go!” Aiba cried out and forced Nino’s grip off of Jun by clutching his wrist, his nails nearly piercing Nino’s skin. As Nino backed off, Aiba went to Jun’s aid. “Jun, are you okay?” He said and saw the bruises on Jun’s face, with a portion of lip still bleeding. Jun managed to nod in response and slowly sat up. Aiba then turned to Nino. “What the hell’s your problem?” He shouted.

“Why’re you asking me?” Nino talked back. “It’s your friend who has a problem!”

“Nino!” Ohno cried out and went to him. “Nino, please, you have to calm down.”

“Calm down?” Nino exclaimed. “How could I? He hit me first!” He then pushed Ohno away and went face to face with Aiba. “You see this?” He pointed to his eye which had swollen up. “Yeah? Do you really think I’d go easy on your friend right after he punched me, huh?”

Aiba pulled Nino in closer by his shirt collar. “Listen here, you freakin’ bastard.” Aiba shouted. “I’m not backing out until you tell me exactly what you’ve done to Jun. You hear me?”

“Unbelievable.” Nino cracked a smile. “Your pretty friend’s got a few scratches, so what? That’s nothing compared to what I have.”

“Why you little—“ Aiba raised his fist in the air, ready to blow a punch.

“No!” Ohno barged in and took hold of Aiba’s arm. “Stop it!” He shook Aiba’s arm and, as Aiba’s grip on Nino began to loosen, Ohno pushed him away. “Please, leave him alone, Masaki!” He said; with his arms open wide, blocking Aiba’s way. Aiba caught a glimpse of the pain in Ohno’s eyes. He knew that look very well; it was the same one from before-- from the time when they broke up.

Aiba looked around at the surrounding crowd and found Sho pushing himself through. “What’s going on?” He heard Sho saying out loud. As he saw Nino’s condition, Sho’s face had gone pale in an instant. “Oh my God; Nino, are you alright?”

Aiba watched Sho run to Nino and embrace him. He turned away and clenched his fists. The prickling emotion was still there, like the time he first saw Sho and Nino walking home together. Aiba knew that Nino was special, no matter what he did. The computer teacher didn’t need any effort for Sho to love him. Unlike Aiba, Nino was loved by Sho naturally. His jealously towards Nino had reached to a boiling point.

Aiba looked at Jun, who was still sitting on the ground, and approached him. “What’s gotten into you?” Aiba said.

“I’m sorry.” Jun replied with his head down.

“A simple sorry isn’t going to fix what you’ve done, don’t you know that?” Aiba scolded him, and the teary-eyed Jun glared up at him.

“Look who’s talking.” Jun scorned him. Despite his aching body, the younger man managed to stand up on his own.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aiba grabbed Jun’s arm but Jun brushed it off.

“I’m going home.” Jun said. “Things would only get worse if I stay here…” He then turned his back on Aiba and walked away. Aiba watched him walk pass the school gate, without even casting a second glance at him.

.”Aiba,” Aiba whirled around and found Sho in front him. “Aiba,” he said. “What on earth is going on?”

Aiba shook his head. “I- I don’t know. I’m just as clueless as you are.”

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, but what your friend did was totally out of the line!”

“I’m sure he has his reasons.” Aiba argued. “Jun isn’t someone who’d attack someone out of the blue.”

“Just because he has a reason doesn’t mean it’s justified! I know Nino can be a jerk sometimes, but we should hear his side of the story.”

“God, honestly,” Aiba scoffed. “You’re being way too nice to that guy. Sho, open your eyes! Can’t you see how terrible Nino really is?”

“I get what you mean, but Nino’s still my friend.”

“You can’t just side with him because he’s your friend!”

“I’m not siding with anyone, alright?” Sho raged, screaming at the top of his lungs. “If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t side Jun either!” Aiba was taken aback by the sudden burst of emotion. Sho’s face was red all over, and, as he squinted his eyes, the tears came pouring down. The teacher covered his face with his hands and sobbed. “It’s my fault.” Sho said. “I was the one who led them to this. And it’s all because of my selfishness.”

“Please, don’t say that…” Aiba said. The sight of Sho being like this had strained him. Aiba then wrapped his arms around him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“I’m sorry too.”

Aiba let out a sigh.

“Ow!” Nino shouted as Ohno put ointment on his bruises.

“Will you just hold still?” Ohno exclaimed. “This is hard for me as it is for you.”

“It still hurts…”

Ohno sighed. “Seriously, what am I gonna do with you.” He then put a band aid over the bruise on his cheek. “There, we’re done. Happy?”

Nino grabbed a hand mirror and looked at his reflection. He frowned as he stared at his swollen black eye. “Darn that, Matsumoto.” He said, putting down the mirror. “And I even have to look like this probably for the next few months.” He then clicked his tongue.

They sat still on the clinic bed, side by side. Ohno was looking down to his feet, trying to avoid Nino’s gaze once again. It had been a while since they met up inside the campus; even though they often saw each other outside the school premises, the feeling was still different.

“Hey.” Nino said.

Ohno flicked his gaze towards Nino. “What?”

“Just earlier, you called him by his first name.”

“Eh?”

“Masaki.” He said. “You called him, Masaki.”

As soon as he realized, Ohno felt his face burning with embarrassment. Nino’s emotionless gaze had shaken him to his core. “I’m sorry…” Ohno mumbled over and over.

“Ohno,” Nino took hold of his shoulders. “Ohno, snap out of it.” He said, and Ohno sealed his lips. “What are you apologizing for?”

Ohno averted his eyes and tried not to let his fear get to him. He then took a deep breath and spoke up. “Remember, that one time I told you I dated a younger guy before you?”

“Yes, of course, I do.”

“That was Aiba Masaki.” He said rather slowly. “He’s my ex.”

Nino stared at him in silence, and Ohno began to feel tense again. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about it beforehand. I thought that, if I told you, you would think of me differently…”

At that moment, Nino’s face had twisted and he let out a little chuckle. “There’s no way I’d think of that.” He said. “Well, at least, I know why I hate him so much.”

“You didn’t have to hurt Jun though.”

“But he started it!”

“I know. Just be careful next time, alright?”

Nino crossed his arms and was back to his sullen self again. Ohno huddled closer and put his arm over Nino. “Hey, cheer up,” He said. “Even if you have that ugly thing on your face, you still look handsome. Well, to me, at least.”

Nino shook his head and gave a smirk. “I bet my face is not as handsome as Aiba’s though.”

Ohno furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would you even think that?” He asked, but he figured he didn’t need to hear Nino’s answer. Despite his unchanged expression, a tear had come out and trickled down Nino’s cheek.

“Nino…” Ohno wiped the tear off with his thumb, and that alone had triggered Nino. His confidence had vanished; he started to break down, whimpering like a puppy, and rested his head against Ohno’s shoulder.

Ohno was baffled to witness Nino in such a vulnerable state. At the same time, he was moved, thinking Nino had put up a strong front in order to hide how he truly felt. He cupped Nino’s face with his hands and pecked on Nino’s lips. “You’re the one I love right now, alright? Don’t forget that.”

The younger man then embraced him tightly. “I won’t.”

***

_**It’s best to stay away from bad company this week, since they will only be a burden to you…** _

The school bell’s tune echoed throughout the hallway where Sho stood. His mind was fleeting; his gaze went from the grass and the trees of the campus to the bright blue sky above, and it felt as if he could touch the clouds with his hands. Sho loved instances like this: a simple daydream that wasn’t too hard for him grasp nor too complicated for him to comprehend, when everything he saw would just be taken as it is. No hidden meanings, no symbolism, and all sorts of abstractions.

If he were to come across those things, he would be stressed out.

_“You just don’t get it…”_

And love was one of them.

Of course, Sho knew what love was, he understood it very well. But love seemed to be out of his reach no matter how hard he tried to get a hold of it. He had become closer to Aiba in a few months and yet Aiba still seemed to be so far away…

And Sho snapped back to reality and found Nino approaching him.

Sho still hadn’t gotten used to seeing Nino in those dark-tinted shades. Despite knowing that his friend badly wanted to hide his black eye, Sho couldn’t take Nino seriously with the shades. He remembered how he desperately tried to hold back his laughter the first time he saw it.

Nino came to him with a slouched back and his head down. “You alright?” Sho asked. ~~~~

Nino clicked his tongue. “At this point, I don’t know what’s more embarrassing,” he said. “The bruises or these?” He then pointed to his shades. “It’s making me stand out too much.”

“I thought you liked standing out?”

“I do, but not like this! Parents and teachers are giving me bad looks because of it. Everyone thinks like I’m some kind of criminal, and it’s all because some guy can’t even take a damn joke.”

“You can’t expect everyone to take your harsh jokes lightly like how I do.”

“Still!” Nino argued. He took off his shades and pointed directly to his black eye. “I didn’t need _this_ to remind myself that whenever I look in the mirror!”

Sho put his hand over his head and sighed. “With that temper of yours,” he said. “You might come across the wrong person again, honestly.”

“Ah, there you go again saying that.” Nino grumbled.

“Just don’t get into any more fights, alright?”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“I’m saying this because I care.” Sho said, but at this point, the words which he spoke out felt empty. For how long did his talks with Nino feel that way? Sho didn’t know, but it just happened, and it was only now that he realized it. Being with Nino wasn’t just a habit anymore, it was a chore. Sho patted Nino’s shoulder to give a sign of reassurance for Nino, and the latter seemed pleased and convinced when he did that. And off they went to have their lunch break just like that.

When, Sho wondered, would it be the time he would be able to say: ’I’m tired; I need space, is that okay?’ Surely, Nino would understand, or rather, Sho hoped that he would. Of course, Sho still saw Nino as a friend, but he wanted more time for himself.

Sho wanted to break free from all the restrictions; he didn’t want anything to hold him back or to drag him down. He wished he’ll finally be able to say the things he’d always wanted to tell, especially to Aiba. Most importantly, to Aiba. He needed to tell him about that time-- _that day_ … Sho placed his hand on his chest. His heart still beat fervently whenever he remembered it. He had to tell Aiba everything; he couldn’t hold onto his secret no more.

“Sho, come on, hurry up!” He heard Nino’s high-pitched voice ringing in his ears. “The food’s gonna run out if you keep spacing out like that.”

“Alright, alright…” He then ran to Nino.

_Someday, I’ll tell him my true feelings…_

The zoo was pretty crowded than usual today. Although they didn’t mind it, Aiba and Sho had to hold hands the whole time so they wouldn’t get separated while they pushed their way into the crowd. Earlier, they had got to pat elephants, feed some birds, and (unwillingly) have large snakes resting on their shoulders. However, they didn’t get to see up close the rest of the animals because too many people were blocking their way. And currently, the two were exhausted and so they looked for an empty bench where they could breathe and rest for a while. Sho pulled out his water bottle from his bag and almost gulped down the whole thing.

“I was close to fainting just now.” Aiba said, panting. He began to fan himself with an uchiwa which the staff gave them as a freebee.

“Tell me about it.” Sho said. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Not really.” He said and began to cough. Sho put his hand over Aiba’s back and patted it. Sho offered his water bottle to Aiba, who gladly drank from it.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do if you’d faint. I’d probably just lose my mind.”

“Don’t worry about such a thing. I’m going to be alright, I’m sure of that.”

Sho looked at him with a meaningful gaze, and brushed Aiba’s bangs to the side with his fingers. There was a tinge of sadness in Sho’s eyes that Aiba couldn’t comprehend. “I’m really sorry about what happened last time during the festival.” Aiba said.

Sho shook his head. “It’s fine.”

Aiba stood up and offered his hand to Sho, who held it back. Sho’s hand was so warm and soft when he felt it, his heart skipped a beat as it happened. They journeyed on until they had reached a downward stairway. Without second thoughts, the two went underground. As they ventured further, the place grew darker and darker. As they reached the end of the stairway, they came across aquariums which glowed in various colors. Some contained species of fish, but most of the aquariums contained pretty jellyfish which also frequently changed color based on the lights which illuminated below.

As they passed the last aquarium, Sho gasped when he saw the huge underwater tunnel which appeared before their very eyes. Aiba too was mesmerized by the sight as they walked through it. They watched as a school of fish passed by them from above and Sho chuckled as soon as he saw a starfish sticking on one of the glass panels. Aiba couldn’t help but gaze at how beautiful Sho looked under the blue light. And once again, Aiba felt the guilt crawling back to him again. He still couldn’t bring himself to tell Sho the truth.

Aiba found Sho looking at him, with a puzzled face. “You alright?” He asked. Aiba then nodded.

“Yeah.” He said with a smile.

They didn’t know for how long they were in the tunnel and didn’t bother to check the time anyway, and so when they finally went out, to their surprise, it was already night time. “That was fun.” Sho said, as they walked, side by side, out of the zoo.

“It sure was.” Aiba replied.

“I haven’t had that much fun in years.”

“Really?”

Sho shook his head. “I kept focusing so much on my studies back then, I didn’t have the time… no, I didn’t give any time for myself at all.”

“Me either. You’ve always been a hardworker after all. I remember that sometimes I’d see you in the library back then.”

“Eh?” Sho flicked his gaze towards him. “You noticed?”

“Yeah, always.”

“Oh…” Sho slightly blushed. “I didn’t know.”

Aiba looked up at the sky where he found the grinning moon among the stars. The sight felt so peaceful, so quiet; the night was bringing in a cool breeze which passed by them. Aiba felt a sort of satisfaction which calmed his worrying mind. At that moment, Aiba paused as a sudden desire had struck him. It was, after all, a beautiful night, and Aiba thought it wouldn’t be bad if he’d take the chance to make everything worthwhile. “Hey, Sho.” Aiba called out.

Sho turned to him. “Yeah?”

Aiba went forward and kissed him. Sho’s lips were still as soft as ever, just like the first time they kissed. Only this time, Sho had gotten more confidence in kissing back. As Aiba pulled back, a sigh escaped from Sho’s lips. Their faces were just an inch apart. “Sorry,” Aiba said. “If it was too sudden…”

“Don’t be.” Sho said and licked his lips. “Just continue.” He then kissed Aiba again. Their surroundings faded into the dark night. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of each other’s warmth as they drew closer, their bodies pressing against each other into an embrace, and the yellow light from above which engraved their silhouettes onto the ground.

As Aiba deepened the kiss, Sho’s grip on the back of his shirt had tightened. Sho’s legs buckled and the two of them nearly lost balance, so Aiba held onto the rail of the nearby bench to keep their stance. Sho gasped for air as soon as Aiba pulled himself away.

"Wow…" Sho said, with his face beaming red. "You're much more aggressive than I thought you’d be."

"Surprised?"

"Not really."

Aiba laughed, and Sho laughed along as well. They sat on the bench and rested for a while. “It’s getting late.” Aiba said. “I guess we better go home soon. You have class tomorrow in the morning, right?”

“Yeah…” Sho looked down to his feet.

“Is something wrong?” Aiba asked.

Sho shook his head. “I just don’t feel like going home yet.” He said.

“Alright. We could stay here longer if you want.”

Aiba could clearly hear the trees rustle nearby. They had spent their time resting without saying a word. It was only the sounds of their heavy breathing that filled up the silence. There was an invisible gap between them that Aiba wanted to overcome, however he didn’t want to cross it yet. Aiba yearned to see Sho as he is, nothing more, nothing less, but only if Sho would let him…

“Masaki…” Sho said, fiddling his fingers.

Aiba felt jittery as he heard Sho say his name. He flicked his gaze towards him.

“Can I come to your place tonight?”

Aiba’s heart skipped a beat. Sho was now directly looking at him, anticipating his response.

And with the way Sho bit his lip, there’s no way Aiba could refuse.

***

“Just the usual coffee, please.” Aiba said.

He watched Jun look up at him and raise a brow. Jun’s face still had those band aid strips on his cheek and on his chin. The younger man silently scanned him from head to toe. Aiba could tell that Jun caught sight of how he styled his hair neatly and how he wore his favorite green sweatshirt and khaki pants. “You seem different today.” Jun said, with an unimpressed expression.

“And different is good, right?” Aiba grinned.

“Uh-huh. You must’ve slept well last night, haven’t you?”

“You could say that.”

Jun briefly chuckled. “Of course,” He said. “After all, I happened to bump ways with Cinderella in the hallway at our apartment earlier. I even had to point out that his fly was open. Anything else you’d like to say, Aiba Masaki?”

Aiba’s smile faltered, taken aback with Jun’s response. “Well,” Aiba said. “It feels good to be someone’s first, indeed.”

“Uh-huh.” Jun said with his arms crossed. “And did you tell him?”

“Tell him what?”

Jun rolled his eyes and groaned. “About the horoscopes.”

Aiba blew a raspberry. “That doesn’t matter.”

“No, Aiba. It _does_ matter.” Jun then walked away and went out through the back door of the café. Aiba rushed in to follow him.

“Jun!” Aiba found the younger man standing on the end of the staircase. He went to him and found Jun already getting teary-eyed. “Hey, relax; I’ve got everything under control.”

“You…” Jun said, shaking his head. “You’ve gone way past the line! If you keep being like this…”

“Stop crying. I know you’re worried about me. But it’s too late for me to back out of it.”

“So, you’ll just keep lying until you can’t lie anymore then?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“You know what?” Jun raised his voice. “Fine! If that’s what you want, go ahead!” He then went back up the staircase. “Just don’t come to me for help, ever.” Jun slammed the door and Aiba was left stunned in the chilly weather.

Sho shivered as he brought the cold, running water to his face with his hands. He turned the faucet off, and took out his towel to wipe his face. Slowly, he slid the towel down to his chin and put it down. Sho stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and let out a deep sigh. He was late for today’s morning ceremony, and he even had to bow and apologize to the higher-ups earlier.

And to think that it all happened because Sho got carried away with his feelings for Aiba… He felt like being a teenager all over again. Until now, Sho couldn’t get over last night. The sense of Aiba’s warmth still lingered on his very skin.

“You were late today.”

Sho’s gaze flicked towards the doorway where Nino was standing. He still had those dark tinted shades of his. “Yeah,” Sho said. “I was.”

Nino frowned. “That’s so unlike you.”

Even if he couldn’t see Nino’s eyes, Sho could tell by the sound of his voice that he wasn’t pleased. Nino was surely going to ask him why he was late; Sho knew very well that he would. “Excuse me.” He said and proceeded to leave. However, Nino grabbed hold on him and pinned him against the nearest wall. Sho could feel the coldness of the tiles as the back of his head had hit it. Nino rummaged Sho’s collar and began to unbutton his shirt.

“Nino, what the heck are you doing!” Sho cried out and squirmed.

Nino managed to force open Sho’s collar and saw the red marks around his collarbones. “I knew it!” Nino said. “So you did have sex with him!”

Sho quickly pushed him away, as he was off guard. “What the heck is wrong with you?” Sho yelled at him. “Why are making a big fuss about my personal life, huh? I never meddled into yours! So, what if we had sex? You and Ohno probably have sex at least thrice a week.”

Nino kept silent and simply looked down, avoiding Sho’s gaze.

“You know what? Aiba was right about you.” Sho said. “Heck, I don’t even remember why we’re even friends in the first place.”

Nino slowly raised his head and seemed to be staring at him. Sho went towards the door but Nino suddenly began to speak. “I,” He said. “I began teaching after I got fired in my previous job as a head technician. During my first day as a teacher, I wasn’t passionate; I was still disappointed with myself. But you were there, and you talked to me. I forgot what we talked about, but, I remember I said something funny and you kept laughing. And then I laughed too, for the first time in a long while, that day.” He then chuckled. “Right after that, you were the only one I wanted be with. Maybe, I did like you a little bit. I don’t know…”

Sho just stared at the door in front of him; he didn’t want to face Nino. He couldn’t bring himself to handle that they had some sort of attachment to each other. Hence, that’s why he would go meet up with Nino, even if there was no other reason for doing so. The horoscope compatibility was probably true, Sho thought. But now, he grew bored of it, unfortunately.

“It’s alright,” Nino said. “It’s alright for me if you think little of our friendship. But, I did truly believe that you were my friend, and I hope you feel the same way as well…”

Sho shut his eyes and sighed. “Just leave me alone, Nino.” He then went out and slammed the door close.

“Class is dismissed.” Nino said. The students then begin to pack up and, in two lines, went out of the computer lab. As soon as the coast was clear, Nino then had his face flat on his computer desk. His mind was mocking him about what happened earlier in the faculty restroom. _Stupid, stupid, stupid…_ Sho was now completely on Aiba’s side and that wasn’t good. Much worse, Sho hated him now.

Suddenly, Nino had heard chuckling near the corner of the room, and so he looked up and found out that a group of girls were still in the room. Nino stood up from his seat and went to approach them. “Hey, what are you girls doing? You’re going to be late for the next class if you stay here.”

“Oh, we’re just talking about horoscopes readings from the magazine Mina brought, Ninomiya-sensei.” Said one of them.

“Horoscopes? Again?” Nino said.

“Would you like to know yours, sensei?” Mina asked.

“I’m not into that kind of stuff.”

“It’s alright, sensei. I’m not into it too, but I’m curious.” The other girl said.

“Do you want to know yours, Yuki-chan?” Mina asked her. “I’ll read it out for you if you want. What’s your sign?”

“I’m an Aquarius.”

“Oh, just like Sakurai-sensei!” Mina squealed. “Okay, let’s see…”

Nino turned his back on them and rolled his eyes. After all, there was no reason to listen; he already knew what would be said.

“You are quite easy to deceive this week.” Mina read, and Nino stopped on his tracks. “Be careful about who you trust, for not everything is as it seems. Beware of the wolf behind the sheep’s clothing.”

“Scary!” The girls cried out in unison. Unbeknownst to them though, Nino was the most shocked among them. “You gotta be extra careful, Yuki-chan!” He heard Mina say.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Let’s just go back to our room now.”

And so they went off, rushing past by Nino. “Bye, Ninomiya-sensei!” They said. Nino didn’t move from where he stood, not even a trace of flinching on his face. Everything was still sinking onto him; he had yet to realize that he had finally found the last piece of the puzzle, until Mina, who would be the last to go out, passed by him.

At that moment, everything clicked and he figured out the answer.

“Mina,” Nino called out to her.

“Yes, sensei?” She said.

“On second thought, may I take a look in that magazine of yours?”

Ohno sat waiting at the ramen stall like Nino had told him to earlier. Ohno was puzzled why Nino messaged him all of a sudden, when they’ve always went home together since they started dating. Nino could’ve just told him straight when they meet up, but he didn’t. And there was a sense of urgency that was unusual of Nino in his message. _‘Meet up; ramen stall, at 7.’_ And Ohno couldn’t help but worry.

When Nino arrived, Ohno noticed him holding a plastic bag from a convenience store. Nino sat down beside him and brought out what seemed to be a kids’ magazine and placed it on the table counter.

Ohno furrowed his eyebrows. “You messaged me to come here…for this?” He said.

“Not exactly.” Nino replied.

He sighed. “What is it that you want to talk about this time?”

“Remember I told you about a magazine that Sho reads every week?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, the only reason why he buys it is because he reads the horoscope article. Though recently, ever since he met Aiba, the horoscope readings have gotten a bit too real.”

“Uh, okay?”

“I know it doesn’t make any sense, but you have to believe me.” Nino said, putting his hands on Ohno’s shoulders. “The magazine’s horoscope article was rigged; it doesn’t match with the readings from that magazine which one of our students bought.”

“I think you’re jumping to conclusions, Nino.” Ohno told him. “It’s just a kids’ magazine. And of course, it’s going to be different; they’re two magazines who have different writers. Besides, you can’t base everything only on this.”

“That is why I had bought these…” Nino got the plastic bag and poured out the newspapers and other magazines he brought on the table. “I’ve read them all, line by line.” He said, as he picked up one of them. “Each has different words but in the end, they all say the same thing, except for this damned magazine.” Nino held up the Mikadzuki magazine to Ohno’s face with both hands, nearly crumpling the paper.

Ohno took it from him and read its contents. When he finished, he read the other magazines on the table, and as he was on his fifth magazine, he sighed and slowly put it down. “I don’t believe it.” He said. “You’re right, it is different… But, why? I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t understand either at first. But when I did some research, I found this.” Nino picked out a magazine from the pile and flipped the pages until they came across a table chart of the zodiacs’ relationship compatibility. Nino’s finger then pointed at a box in which intersected Capricorn and Aquarius. “And, as it turns out, Capricorn and Aquarius can’t be together.”

“Why should that matter though?”

“It matters because Sho believes in it.” Nino chuckled. However, Ohno was still sceptic about the whole dilemma. “You know what?” Nino said. “Since we have some doubts, why don’t we ask them for ourselves?” Nino then flipped the front cover of the Mikadzuki magazine, and printed at the bottom left corner was the office number.

Ohno gulped and watched Nino dial in the number in his phone and pressed the call button. The phone buzzed in Nino’s hands, and the two silently waited for someone to answer back…


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long time since Aiba worn a suit. After he had quit as manager, he didn’t see the need of wearing one anymore, unless the occasion called for it. He wore a simple dark blue vest and pants, matched with a classic white dress shirt and a black tie. He also had his hair well-combed and even put hairspray on. He had prepared a lot for this special day, and he definitely made sure that all would go well.

And with just a few more months to go, Aiba would be able to accomplish his deal with Kagoshima and everything would return back to normal—the way he wanted it to be: having a hobby as his job, and having a good romantic relationship with his lover; it was a win-win situation.

It felt ironic to think that he used to despise Kagoshima when they first met. At this point, Aiba would gladly thank him for having what he had now, and for realizing what he could do to gain those things.

As always, Aiba patiently waited for Sho. Not only did he reserve a table for the two of them, but he had also requested for them to have their own room for their dinner date. Aiba wanted his night with Sho to be well-spent, and to be well-focused on each other. He could gain all this at an affordable price, since he would come to this Italian restaurant frequently back then with his young idols. In fact, the whole staff still remembered his name and that alone felt reassuring.

The door opened and a waitress entered the room. “Aiba-san, your guest has arrived.” She told him.

Aiba rose up from his seat, and then came in Sho, who gazed upon the whole room in awe. His eyes seemed to be particularly fixated at the chandelier above them. And Aiba couldn’t help but smile as Sho finally had his eyes on him.

Before leaving, the waitress offered to remove Sho’s coat, but Sho declined politely. Sho then stripped it off himself and put it on the coat rack nearby the door. “You really have outdone yourself this time, Masaki.” He said as he approached him.

Aiba chuckled. “Of course, I have. Just like you said before, I’m a man full of surprises.”

Sho laughed at the reference. “Indeed, you are.”

Aiba went to pull over a chair and gestured Sho to sit down, and Sho followed. As Aiba went back to his seat, a group of waiters and waitresses came inside, carrying trays of delicacies and gracefully placed them all on their table. “I didn’t know what you might like, so I ordered pretty much one of everything.” Aiba said. “But I assure you that they all taste good.”

“How thoughtful.”

One of the waiters approached them with two champagne glasses in one hand and the champagne bottle in the other. He gave the two their glasses and poured in their drink. He placed the bottle in the middle of the table and left the room along with the others.

“Shall we have a toast?” Aiba raised his glass.

“Of course,” Sho said with a smile and clanked their glasses. “Cheers.” They said simultaneously and took a sip.

Sho began to try out all the food by taking every bit of each kind in his plate. It was amusing for Aiba to see Sho’s facial expressions change every time while tasting the different flavors and textures which blend in together. “The pasta’s really good, don’t you think?” Aiba said.

“I don’t know; I like all of them.” Sho said, licking his fork.

Aiba laughed. “I’m glad you do.”

While Sho was occupied in finishing his meal, Aiba had to chew slowly for he was beginning to lose his appetite. He put his utensils on his plate and drank from his glass of champagne, hoping it would lighten himself up. He was supposed to be enjoying this night; Aiba had thought he would, but there was this empty feeling that left him unsatisfied, as if something crucial were missing. Aiba could only watch Sho, who was unaware of his sorrowful gaze.

_“So, you’ll just keep lying until you can’t lie anymore then?”_

Aiba put his hand over his forehead, with his elbow resting against the table. Jun’s voice kept on coming back to haunt him since then, and it had made him restless.

As he had finished eating, Sho wiped his mouth with a tissue and let out a blissful sigh.

“You stuffed?” Aiba said, and Sho nodded in response.

Sho took his glass and leaned back on his chair. He had lowered his gaze to his champagne, which swayed as his spun the glass in his hand. Then, all of a sudden, Sho began to chuckle.

Aiba flicked his eyes towards him. “What?”

Sho looked at him with wide eyes and, seeming to have realized Aiba had heard him, shook his head. “Oh, nothing,” He said. “I just thought of something funny…”

“Care to tell me about it?”

Sho twisted his lips and hummed. “Well,” He said. “Who would’ve known, right? That it’d be you and me, in the end.”

Aiba chuckled. “Does it feel strange just thinking about it?”

“No. It somehow feels like a dream.”

“Well, it’s a dream coming true for me.”

Sho laughed. “Really?” He said. “If you say so, then, I’m glad.”

Touched by Sho’s words, Aiba simply smiled.

Sho leaned over, bringing his face to rest on his hands. He had a look in his eyes that bewildered Aiba greatly, and Aiba could not point out why. It was as if Sho knew something that he had failed to recognize. “I’m happy that I got to meet you again, Masaki.” Sho said with a gentle smile which Aiba found to be painful to look at.

Aiba knew he didn’t deserve it. A selfish, lying coward like himself shouldn’t be having such adoration from a man whom he idolized very much.

“Masaki, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you…” Sho said, out of the blue.

At that moment, Aiba was all ears on what Sho had to say…

Suddenly, they heard a bang. The two of them flinched and looked towards the door, which was now widely opened. From afar, Aiba immediately recognized who it was, even if he had his eyes concealed with those dark tinted shades. “Hey there, sorry for intruding,” Nino said casually as he barged in the room. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Nino?” Sho said. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“I just want to join in this lovely party you’re having.”

“Impossible,” Aiba said with panic in his eyes. “Even if you tried following us, how were you able to get past the—“ The words died in Aiba’s throat as he spotted Ohno by the doorway. “Ohno-san?”

Ohno opened his mouth to say something, though no voice came out. But Aiba assumed that it was a ‘sorry’.

“Seriously, you two have been spying on us this whole time?” Sho exclaimed.

“I’ll explain further later on.” Nino said. “But, first…” He then looked towards Aiba. “I’ll give you a chance to tell Sho your secret, and if not, I’ll be the one to tell him instead.”

“What secret?” Sho’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Come on, Aiba, are you gonna tell him or not?” Nino pushed him.

Aiba looked down to his knees and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Playing dumb, huh?” Nino smirked and sighed. “I guess I have no choice then. Now that’s settled, let’s have a pop quiz. Tell me, Sho, what is the name of the magazine that you read every week?”

“Mikadzuki Magazine.” Sho said. “Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“Ah, yes, Mikadzuki Magazine.” Nino said, ignoring the question. “And the reason you bought this magazine is because you appreciate their horoscope readings the most, is that correct?”

Sho flushed and was fuming. “Nino, stop this nonsense at once.” He said.

“Yes or no, answer me.”

Sho groaned.

“Fine, don’t answer. Anyway, since you love their readings so much, surely you know the name of the author of that section right? What’s their name?”

“What the heck does this have to do with anything?”

“Well, don’t you think the pen name, Hoshino Nick, is kinda interesting?” Nino said. “I mean, hoshi means star, of course. But, ‘Nick’ I thought at first was a weird choice. But then, I remembered the name ‘Nick’ is often associated with Saint Nicholas, who was the inspiration for Santa Claus… Speaking of which, Aiba-san, your birthday is on December 24, which is Christmas Eve, correct?”

Aiba glared up at him, but Nino’s mocking grin was unfazed by it. “Yes.” Aiba said, his voice being nearly a whisper.

“It sure is nice to have your birthday on such a special day.” Nino remarked. “I’m sure you receive a lot of gifts during that day, huh?”

“Not really.”

“I see. Do you have any hobbies?”

“Of course; everyone does.” He mumbled.

“And among those hobbies—is one of them writing, Aiba-san?”

Aiba felt his heart sank at once. He wanted to run away, he wanted to escape from the mess which he created.

“I heard that you’re a really good and convincing writer, Aiba-san. I mean, your boss did tell me so.” Nino said. “After all, since you had quit being a manager and went to do full-time writing, you’ve been giving it your all, haven’t you? Your boss, Kagoshima-san, told me that you were desperate for taking such a job, he even made a deal with you.”

Aiba buried his face in his hands. The gravity was too great for him to resist and was dragging him nearer to the edge of his downfall. “Stop it, please…” Aiba pleaded.

“He said that if your article’s reception goes well, he’ll gladly give you a promotion. Might I ask, Aiba-san, what is that you are currently writing about?”

“Will you shut it?” Aiba exclaimed and slammed his fists on the table. Nino looked at him with an intense gaze similar to his. While heavily breathing, Aiba looked around and found the other two staring back at him, with eyes wide due to the shock of his sudden rage.

“I have one last question for you, Aiba-san.” Nino said.

“No! No more questions!” Aiba cried out. “I don’t want to hear a single word from you! Don’t you even dare to open that filthy mouth of yours!” He then gritted his teeth.

“Oh, Aiba-san,” Nino chuckled. “I believe your hands are much filthier than my mouth, both literally and figuratively if I must say.”

“What do you want from me?”

“What I want from you?” Nino asked. “Heck, what I want from you is what everyone else wants, Aiba-san!” He blew out.

“Nino,” Ohno went towards him. “That’s enough already.”

“No!” Nino whirled around. “It’s not enough! Not until this bastard tells the whole truth!”

“Listen to me, Kazunari!” Ohno said with a stern voice. “What you’re doing…” He shook his head. “It’s not worth it. Not anymore.” Ohno’s gaze went to Sho, who remained sitting on his chair, still shaken by everything that had happened earlier. “Whatever we do is going to hurt Sho, either way.”

As he found Ohno’s gaze now looking toward him, Aiba froze. “You need to tell him, Masaki.” He said. Aiba’s eyes started to well up with tears and let out a sigh.

“Say it.” Nino muttered, but Aiba shook his head. “Come on, say it already!” Nino cried. “Admit that you’re that horoscope writer, Hoshino Nick! That you were the one who wrote all those fake horoscope readings just so you can have Sho all to yourself! Just say it, dammit!”

“Alright, I’ll admit it!” Aiba said. “I did it!” All at once, Aiba felt his chest had gotten lighter with every breath he took. “I wrote the horoscopes for Mikadzuki magazine under the name Hoshino Nick. I did it…” He then turned to Sho.

“The readings I did for Aquarius were all fake.” He said. “I’ve always wanted to be closer to you since high school. I just wanted you to love me, to think of me—to think that it would be no one else but me, because we were never compatible from the very start. I’m sorry that I had to do it this way; I shouldn’t have thought of using the horoscopes just for me to reach you. I should’ve just gone with the flow and let things happen naturally, but I didn’t, because I was afraid that you wouldn’t feel the same way. I’m sorry, Sho-chan…”

Aiba sniffed and let his soaked cheeks dry up while staring at the man in front of him. Sho sat there and stared at him in silence. His piercing gaze felt cold and hollow, but it was Sho’s blank expression which horrified Aiba more. Aiba, Nino and Ohno waited for Sho to say something—anything, but it looked like he had fully embraced his quiet state.

Sho stood up and quickly drank the rest of his champagne all at once. He let down the glass gently onto the table and left the room.

Nino attempted to run after Sho, but Ohno grabbed his arm and held him back. “Just let him be,” Ohno said. “Following him won’t be of any help for anyone.” Despite those words, Aiba had other plans in mind. Aiba jumped from his seat and sprinted out of the room, while ignoring Ohno’s pleads.

Aiba rushed out of the restaurant, circling in place to try and find where Sho went. As soon as he found the glimpse of Sho’s coat from afar, he went after him. “Sho-chan!” Aiba yelled. Sho kept walking at a steady pace; he didn’t ever bother to walk faster as Aiba neared him. “Sho-chan, please! Don’t leave me!” He said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you… Please, forgive me!”

Sho stopped on his tracks, and Aiba had followed suit. “Forgive you?” Sho said, with his back still facing Aiba. “You think I could forgive you after making a fool out of me? You’re despicable.”

Aiba sobbed. “I know it’s too much for me to ask you that. I know that very well. Nevertheless, I still love you, Sho-chan.”

Sho briefly chuckled. “You say you love me, but you used me just to get a promotion.”

“What? No.” Aiba shook his head. “That’s not true!”

“Either way, you got what you wanted.” He said. “Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. All the talks, the trips we had… the sex too.” Aiba then heard him smirk.

“You,” Aiba said. “You said back there that you had something to say, what was it?”

Sho shrugged his shoulders. “Does it even matter?”

Aiba began to sob again. “Please…” He whined. “Please, tell me!”

Sho sighed. “You know what? How about you do me a favor and get out of my sight?”

Aiba buried his face with his hands and wailed loudly like a baby. He listened to Sho’s footsteps move further away from him until he heard them no more…

Aiba gasped as he went up the stairs of the apartment. His face was all red and his eyes were swollen from crying too much earlier. As he walked to the door in front of him, Aiba leaned his head against its cold surface. As he knocked on the door, Aiba started crying again. Other than the fact that it was already late at night, he was crying because he knew the person on the other side wouldn’t let him in, because that person told him many times to stop himself from making such a stupid decision, but he didn’t listen. And just like _he_ had expected, Aiba was now in great pain. Aiba needed comfort; he needed the warm and gentle hands which gave him strength countless times.

“Please, open the door.” Aiba pleaded. “Please!”

A click was heard and as Aiba quickly retreated from it, the door opened. “Aiba?” Jun uttered, surprised by his presence.

Aiba quickly held onto him and hugged him while crying. “I’m sorry,” Aiba said. “I should’ve listened to you, I should’ve… “He started coughing, and Jun began to pat his back.

“It’s alright.” Jun said. “I’m here; I’m right here…You know I’ll never leave you.”

Aiba raised his head from Jun’s shoulder and looked at him in the eye. Jun then wiped his tears with his fingers, and Aiba had felt relief the moment he did that. What Aiba didn’t realize was that Jun’s gaze had given off a different vibe, and when he noticed, it was too late. Jun’s hands had found its way to his collar and pulled Aiba in for a kiss.

Aiba quickly pulled himself away and distanced himself from Jun, who stared at him wide-eyed. As Aiba wiped his mouth, he recognized the familiar taste from Jun’s lips. “Saké?” He said. “Jun, are you drunk?”

The younger man began to laugh all of a sudden. His laughter, which was light and cheery at first, had gradually turned dull until he ended up crying. “I just thought that you’d finally give me a chance, for once… I’m sorry.” He said.

“So, all this time you…” Aiba paused and tried to recall carefully each moment he had with Jun; he remembered each coffee and each meal Jun made, and finally, he remembered the _bento_ which Jun made for him, in which his colleagues back then would claim how jealous they were for how extravagant it was. It was only then that it had hit him about how much his friend actually cared for him, to the point of falling in love with him.

“I’m sorry…” Jun repeated over and over.

Although he didn’t feel the same way, Aiba embraces him tightly and pat his back, the same way Jun does to him. “I’m sorry too.” Aiba said, and they remained there at that spot until daylight shone upon them…

Sho sat on the bench with his head hanging low. Throughout the whole day, Sho had to conceal his inner sadness since he didn’t want his feelings to meddle with his work. He wanted to be as professional as possible before his students and his colleagues. But as hours have passed, Sho had grew sullener and had retreated himself to the school garden where he could have some peace and contemplated everything about his relationship with Aiba. He was still in shock to think that Aiba had deceived him from the start. He looked at his pink bracelet, staring at it longingly. He still wasn’t ready let go of it, not even after all that chaos.

Sho heard the rustling of grass approaching him and growing louder. He didn’t bother to look at the person directly; he knew who it was after all. Sho knew him well enough to recognize him. “What do you want, Nino?” Sho said.

The younger man fidgeted. “Nothing,” He said. “I’m not here for anything.”

“Liar, you’re here to nag me.”

“No, I’m not.” Nino shook his head. “After what happened yesterday, I’m too tired to do that.”

“Nino, please, just leave me alone.” Sho stood up and began to walk away but Nino grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back.

“Sho, wait!” He said. “I’m really sorry that I ruined your date. I didn’t have any control of myself that time; I even had to drink a bit of wine to pull that off.” Nino then let go his arm.

Sho sighed. “It’s fine.” He said. “In fact, I should be the one apologizing to you for the last time we fought.”

“Apology accepted.” Nino said. “Anyways, you’re going to forget that Aiba Masaki in no time. I’m sure of that.”

Sho twisted his lips. “That’s easier said than done.”

Nino chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sho, you’ll meet better men out there. I mean, Aiba’s just another guy…”

“He’s not just another guy!” Sho snapped.

“Woah,” Nino stepped back. “Geez, what the heck’s with you? Are you that crazy about him?”

Sho narrowed his eyes at Nino. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

Nino’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You really wanna know why I’m so crazy about that Aiba Masaki guy?” Sho said and went to loom over Nino. “For my whole high school life, I’d go to the school library every single freaking day for just one guy! I never went there to study; I only went there because he was there! Yes, I admit, I’m _that_ desperate! Happy?”

Nino’s eyes had wavered. “I-I’m sorry,” His voice trembled. “I didn’t know. You never told me…”

“The horoscopes too, I didn’t believe them.” Tears started to well up in Sho’s eyes. “But he said it was good. That’s why, I believed.” He then wiped away his tears. “I have to go. My next class is starting soon.” He then forced his way through, with their shoulders bumping against each other, and walked away...

***

Aiba etched the smooth felt paper with the sticky oil pastel in his hand. As he dragged the oil pastel across the paper, it broke in half and Aiba couldn’t help but curse. The old lady, who seemed to be in her early 60s, and was his desk mate, stared at him and Aiba immediately bowed his head. “Sorry.” He said and returned his gaze to the bowl of fruits in the middle of the room.

After quitting his job as a horoscope writer, Aiba struggled to find a more decent job which suited his standards. And because he had to maintain his health, jobs which required long working hours and extreme physical work were no good. To Aiba, it seemed that all hope was lost, until he remembered the Essence shop where he bought the astrology books. He remembered how drawn he was to the place, and to the woman who handled it. He noticed how empty the shop had felt, even with the many beautiful objects displayed around. So, he came back and he never thought he would again wind up as a manager—an assistant, rather.

The doors to the tatami room opened and the eccentric woman of the shop, whose name turned out to be ‘Becky’, went in with the same alluring smile on her face. “Hello, I’m back,” She said, cheerfully. “I can’t wait to see everyone’s progress so far!”

Being an assistant in the shop meant that Aiba had to attend all workshops and events that they held every week. Although Aiba wasn’t bothered by such task, he still found it frustrating to do things he was never good at in the first place. “That’s very nice work, Aiba-san.” Becky said. “I like your style.”

Aiba’s face twisted as he looked at the scribbles he made on the paper. “This is way too far from nice, Becky-san.”

“Ah, but you got the tones and shadows very well.” She said and patted his shoulder. “Just practice and in time, you’ll get better at it.” Becky then began to go around again and look at the works of others. Aiba went back to continue drawing until time had run out.

As the workshop had ended and all the participants had left, Aiba and Becky began to clean up the area. Becky slid open the doors leading to the veranda. “Phew, it sure is hot today, don’t you think?”

“Indeed.” Aiba replied.

“Well, it is summer after all.”

 _Summer…_ The word resonated in Aiba’s mind, and suddenly, he was transported back to the time where he and Sho were inside the dark dome, looking at the stars—they were artificial stars, but they treated them as if they were the real thing.

_“That would be fun actually, going to your hometown. Maybe during summer vacation, we could go.”_

Aiba could imagine how it would be if they did, but such a thing would remain only a fantasy. It had already been months since Sho broke up with him, and the scars still haven’t healed. In fact, Aiba still wore the green bracelet around his wrist. He was about to put it away once he started working in the shop, but Becky persuaded him to keep it.

The bracelet turned out to be made of apatite. He still remembered the look of her panicked face as she explained the reasons why it would be better to keep wearing it, and Aiba, although convinced, was caught off guard. He wondered what Sho’s bracelet is made out of. It wasn’t specified when he bought it for him that day, and it was such a shame, since he’d surely never get to see Sho again…

“Well then,” Becky whirled around and grinned. “Shall we have our lunch, Aiba-san?”

Aiba gave a nod. “Sure.”

The evening had gone quiet and Jun had turned off the lights in the café and prepared to close after a long day of working, another day in which Aiba didn’t show up at the café. He was well-aware that because of Aiba’s new job, their meetings have lessened. Aiba did still treat him as his friend, but there were things between them that drastically changed. The witty humor and the deep conversations they exchanged were gone and were replaced with awkwardness and silence. Jun didn’t even go to Aiba’s apartment anymore.

Aiba never talked to Jun about the kiss. Although his memory of it was a blur, Jun still remembered feeling the rush of emotion that overcame him during that moment. Each day was burdensome for Jun; his feelings for Aiba may have tamed, but he longed to see Aiba walk in the café to talk out some problems or to simply talk about how they’ve been doing, that alone would make Jun happy.

Jun walked out of the café and was searching his pocket for his keys. As he was about to lock the doors, Jun spotted familiar figures from a distance. Jun, unfazed, stared at the two men approaching him. Nino no longer had that horrifying black eye of his, and had brought Ohno along with him, much to Jun’s surprise. To think he would see Ohno again like this, compared to the day Aiba had introduced Ohno to him, felt ironic.

Nino went up to Jun first. “I hate you.” He said, nonchalantly.

“I hate you too.” Jun replied.

“At least we finally agree on something.”

Jun left Nino’s gaze and went to look at Ohno. “So, what brings you two here at this hour?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.” He said.

With that, Jun revived the café again. After turning on the light, he led the two of them to gather around one of the tables. They each took a chair and sat down. “Well, this sucks.” Nino tried to break the ice.

“Just go straight to the point.” Jun said.

Nino gazed at Ohno and the oldest among them began speaking. “Well,” He said. “Sho-kun hasn’t been himself since they broke up. He’s become…very distant to us.”

Jun furrowed his eyebrows. “Alright, what does this have to do with me then? Isn’t this a problem between the three of you?”

“You are correct.” Ohno said. “But, you see, what Nino and I thought of was that, with your help, we can figure out a way to bring Aiba and Sho back together again.”

“No, no way. Bringing them back together?” Jun scoffed. “What’s this, some kind of lousy romance movie? This isn’t something that can be fixed that quickly.”

“You got a better idea then?” Nino argued.

“Whether I have one or not, it’s still a bad idea!” Jun said. “I mean, how exactly do we bring them together? Aiba surely hasn’t moved on, and I don’t think he plans to do that either. But, what about Sakurai-san? Didn’t he say he wanted Aiba out of his sight? Nothing’s going to happen if we just force them to meet up.”

Nino twisted his lips. “Well, from what I know…” He said. “Sho loves him very much, for a very long time, much longer than both of you did.”

Jun and Ohno shot weird looks at Nino, trying to comprehend what he had said.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Sho and Aiba need each other.” He said. “Once they broke up, the Sho I knew was gone, or maybe, I never actually knew the real Sho. I don’t know! Whatever it is, my relationship with him is not the same anymore!” Nino slumped on his seat. “It turns out that I was just as selfish as that stupid Aiba…and I hate it.” He buried his face into his hands and groaned. “I’m sorry.” He said. “I’m sorry that I made fun of you for liking Aiba, and for saying bad stuff about you.”

Jun set his gaze upon Nino and sighed. “I’m sorry too.” Jun said and bit his lip. “I… I shouldn’t have punched you either. It was wrong for me to do that. And you were right about me anyway.”

Nino lifted up his head and eyed at him.

Jun’s vision started to blur because of the tears. “I thought one day Aiba would finally see me as more than a friend, but I was wrong…” He huffed and shook his head. “I was no match for anyone he liked, not even you, Ohno-san.”

Ohno, who was surprised to hear his name, flicked up his gaze to Jun. “I was never kind to you since the day Aiba introduce you to me.” Jun said. “I’m really sorry.”

“For some reason, I knew.” Ohno said with a nod. “I’ve always known that.” He then gave a tender smile. “And it’s okay.”

Jun briefly smiled as his inner burdens having been lifted. He looked back at Nino, this time, with a determined gaze. “What you said earlier,” Jun said. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Nino sighed. “Well, it turns out, Sho loves Aiba too much that he couldn’t bear to forget him. So, if we’re not too late, they might still have a chance…”

The three then exchanged looks, although not a word was uttered, they completely understood. “Alright then,” Ohno said. “Let’s make ourselves a romance movie.”

***

Today was surely going to be busy for Aiba. It turned out that Becky’s family had come to visit her from their hometown and would be staying for the rest of the month in the shop. As an assistant, it would mean that all responsibility of the shop would fall unto Aiba, since Becky would be occupied with her parents and, especially, her grandmother, who appeared to be senile with those glassy eyes of hers that stared into the distance. Her thin and bony legs were of no use either; her whole body was attached and dependent to the wheelchair she was sitting on.

Aiba tried to refrain from staring while he was sweeping the floor. For some reason, he was rather tensed by the old lady’s presence. Becky and her parents were in the tatami room on the 2nd floor, and so Aiba was left alone with her grandmother. She barely moved at all and didn’t even blink to the point that Aiba wouldn’t be able to tell if she were still alive at that very moment. Aiba shook his head for he realized he was staring again. He turned away and went back to focus on cleaning.

“Is something troubling you, my dear?” Aiba heard a very frail and high-pitched voice in the room.

Aiba whirled around towards the entrance, thinking it was someone else, but he saw no one but the old lady on the wheelchair. Although he was still in doubt, Aiba approached the old lady and, as he looked closely, he realized that the old lady’s foggy eyes were fixated at him. “A-Are you referring to me?” Aiba blurted out, pointing at himself.

“Of course,” she said, with her lips trembling. “Who else am I talking to here?”

It all felt too surreal for Aiba to see the wrinkly old woman speaking to him. “Well, yes…” Aiba replied to her earlier question. “There is.”

“Would you mind telling me then?”

Hesitant, Aiba clenched the broomstick in his hand tightly. “Well,” Aiba began speaking. “There’s this person who I really admired for a long time and eventually fell in love with, but he—I mean…”

“It’s alright.” She said, reassuring him. “Don’t be shy.”

Aiba nodded. “…He and I weren’t compatible.” He said. “I wanted to be much closer to him, and so I lied a lot, about myself, about everything to him. I became selfish. In the end, he found out and I let him down. I guess he and I were never meant to be together.”

The old lady let out a chuckle. “I understand how you feel.” She said. “I remember the time when my husband and I were newlyweds. We would always fight; it was terrible! I had even thought of divorcing him.” The sternness in her voice was clear and sound. The words as Aiba listened were heart wrenching and full of spite; however, it was the look of sadness which filled her eyes. “But it was only me who understood him well.” She then said. “And it was the same for him towards me as well, so we simply set our differences aside and worked it out. In the end, we had a beautiful family.” She smiled faintly. “Such a shame that he never got to see Becky grow up to be a fine lady.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Aiba said and put his palm over her fragile hands.

“Just because you aren’t suited for that person, doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the two of you to be together.” She said. “After all, why should that stop you? It’s your take on it that matters; it’s still you who decides your fate…”

Aiba wanted to say something but the words failed to come out for he heard footsteps suddenly approaching.

“Grandma!” Becky said. “Did we make you wait too long?”

“Oh, not at all, my dear.” She said. “Your kind assistant here has been keeping me company.”

Becky then chuckled. “Is that so? I’m glad.” She said and took hold of the wheelchair. “Come on; let’s take you to your room.”

Aiba simply watched the two of them, along with Becky’s parents, walk into the hallway. As soon as they were out of sight, Aiba sighed. The old lady’s words were engraved into his mind. As he gazed upon the bracelet on his wrist, the longing which drove him back then had been revived and was even stronger than before. He couldn’t refrain from holding back his feelings any longer. He needed to see Sho one more time; even if it meant that it would be the last time he’ll ever get that chance.

Aiba was about to go after Becky to ask if he could leave for a while, but he heard the door to the shop open. He turned around and was ready to greet the customer, but he only gaped as he found Jun in front of his very eyes. “Jun?” Aiba exclaimed. “What are you—“

“You still love him right?” He said and approached him. “Answer me. Do you still love Sho?”

Aiba stared at him for a moment before having the courage to answer. “I do.” He said.

Jun looked up towards the ceiling for his eyes had begun to water. Aiba watched Jun breathe in and let out a sigh. “Alright,” Jun said, looking directly at him with a smile. “That’s alright for me.”

Aiba then smiled back and the two of them hugged. “I’ve always took you for granted, haven’t I?” Aiba said, as he had felt Jun’s tears drip down onto his shoulders. Jun raised his head and wiped his tears with a chuckle.

“Thank you, for everything.” Aiba said.

“You’re welcome, as always.”

“Bye, Sakurai-sensei!”

“Goodbye, enjoy your summer.”

Finally, the last student had left the classroom and a gloom came over Sho’s face at once. He silently watched the golden rays of the sun flood in and hit the metal legs of the empty tables and chairs which glistened against the bright light. If it weren’t for light warming up his skin, Sho wouldn’t have realized that he had been staring mindlessly to the point he almost dozed off right there and then. He looked at the test papers he held in his hands and sighed.

In the end, nothing had changed, no matter how much time passed. And Sho knew that, surely, the next school year, and the year after that, would have the same outcome as well, in which he would have to bear the seething pain in his heart.

“Sakurai?” Sho’s gaze followed the source of the voice and found Ohno standing in front of the doorway.

“Ohno-san…” Sho stood up from his seat.

Ohno then bowed his head and approached him. “It’s been a while since we last talked.” He said. “How are you?”

“I’m alright.” He said with a smile. “Thank you for your concern.”

Ohno smiled back at him but it was short-lived. “Nino told me everything about you and Aiba.” He said, averting his eyes.

Merely mentioning Aiba’s name had struck Sho with an ache within his chest.

“It’s quite nice, actually, that you and Aiba went to high school together.” Ohno remarked. “I’d say you’re luckier than me.”

“Lucky?” Sho’s face crumpled. “What do you mean?”

Ohno clicked his tongue. “You see, a few years ago, Aiba and I met during a photoshoot for a magazine.” He said. “I was the photographer, and the idol Aiba was working for back then was the model.”

Ohno then gave a laugh. “It was my first major project and I was so nervous. It was a really hectic day for me; a day when nothing went right, in short. At one moment, I thought that I should quit immediately after that. But then…” He sighed and looked up, and his eyes were shining with affection. “Aiba had such a beautiful smile. He was very considerate of me and encouraged me throughout that day. And just like that, I fell in love.”

Sho stared at Ohno, speechless by his story.

“But looking back, I realized I never got to know him.” Ohno continued. “I didn’t even know that he liked books and stuff. I only fell in love with the Aiba who helped me that day. But you, Sho, you were special.” He said and smiled. “You loved Aiba just as the man he is.”

Realizing Ohno had finished, Sho let out a chuckle. “It’s funny, to think that I’ve held it in for so long…” Sho suddenly felt a lump in his throat while saying that.

“I’m happy for you.” Ohno said. “And, Nino is happy for you as well.”

Sho flicked his gaze toward Ohno and gave a puzzled look. “Eh?”

“I’ll be leaving now.” He said and turned away from him. “Goodbye, Sho-kun.”

The moment he lost sight of Ohno, Sho had a rush of panic go through him. There was something about Ohno’s gaze that didn’t feel right. A lot of thoughts kept popping out: was Ohno going to leave the school? Or was it Nino, whom he had hurt a few times recently? Or maybe worse, he’ll lose both of his friends… “Ohno, wait!” He ran after him.

Sho sprint along the empty hallway, looking everywhere to find Ohno’s current whereabouts. For some reason, Sho’s feet slipped and he fell onto the floor. Sho groaned as he forced himself to stand on his feet. He looked to his side and found that the door to the library was left open. He went to the doorway to take a peek inside, hoping to find Ohno, but he wasn’t there. Sho sighed and was about to leave, but he was forcefully pushed in and he was once again on his knees. Sho turned and found Nino by the door.

“Nino?” Sho exclaimed. “What the heck!”

“I’m sorry.” Nino said. “But you’ll probably thank me later.”

Nino then quickly shut the door and as he heard the door lock click, Sho started to spew out his anger…

“Nino, what the heck’s gotten into you?” Aiba heard Sho yelling out.

Hiding behind one of the bookshelves, Aiba tightly wrapped his arms around his legs while he listened to Sho meltdown across the room.

“Nino!” He heard Sho banging his fist on the door countless times. “Nino, this isn’t funny, unlock this door right now!”

Sho started to scream in desperation and Aiba shut his eyes, letting the sound of his voice echo through his ears, until it died out. Aiba opened his eyes and peered, thinking that Sho had already calmed down. Sho had his head leaning against the door, with his hands sliding off the surface.

Aiba stood up and slowly walked out of his hideout. He tried his best to be light on his feet, fearing the worst from the hot-headed Sho.

“You,” Sho said. “You’re the one who planned all of this?”

Aiba shook his head. “Jun and the others made me come here.”

“I don’t care.” Sho crossed his arms and turned his back on him. “Whatever your reason is, I’m not buying it. Alright?”

Aiba looked down to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

“You writing fake horoscopes just to influence me. Bet you’re happy that you got your promotion, huh?”

“I don’t work for that magazine anymore.” Aiba said. “I quit a few months ago as soon as my contract was finished. After you found out, I couldn’t bear to write knowing what I did was wrong.”

“Oh, wow, I’m touched.” Sho said, sarcastically. The teacher then faced towards him again. “Did you really think that everything will go your way?” He smirked. “That everything would just revolve around you for your own personal gain?”

“No…”

“Pathetic.”

Sho’s words pierced through him and Aiba couldn’t help but sigh. He had brought himself into this position, and he had no right to either complain or defend himself now. Even so, Aiba wanted to reach out to Sho with all his might, to be able to bridge that gap between them. At this point, he didn’t care about anything anymore, not even those damned horoscopes. “You have all the reasons to hate me, and that’s fine.” Aiba said. “I won’t force you to think otherwise, but I just wanted you to know that I’ll still love you.”

Sho twisted his lips. “Flowery words aren’t going to change my mind.”

“Sho, please…”

“You think you can get away with that victim mentality of yours? Gosh, you make me sick!”

“Come on, please,” Aiba went closer to him and proceeded to get hold of Sho’s shoulder. “If you would just listen—“

Sho quickly brushed it off. “Don’t touch me!” He shouted. “You’re disgusting! Stop playing with my feelings!”

“Sho, listen to me!” Aiba put his hands on the sides of Sho’s face, and, at once, the tears started to fall. “Just this once, please…”

Sho then sobbed. “What do you want from me?”

“Just you.” Aiba said, sliding his hands to Sho’s shoulders. “That’s all I want.”

Sho’s face wrinkled. “I hate you.” Sho lightly pounded his fists onto Aiba’s chest. “I hate you so much, you stupid idiot!”

“I’m used to being called that.” Aiba remarked.

“But you are!” He cried out with his face down. “Because you never noticed how much I liked you back then…”

“What?” Aiba widened his eyes.

Sho rested his face against Aiba’s chest, sniffing and weeping. Aiba then took him for an embrace, but Sho’s cries kept getting louder and louder. “Hey, easy there…” Aiba placed a kiss on the top of Sho’s head. Sho lifted up his head and his face was soaked and flushed. “Since when?” Aiba asked. “Since when did you—“

“7th grade.” Sho said.

“Eh? But you and I weren’t in the same class that year.”

“It was during P.E. class; I tripped during a game and my knee was bleeding very badly. During that moment, you happened to pass by and the teacher called you to help me out. So you took me to the clinic, but the doctor and nurse were out that time. You could’ve left me right there and then, but instead you took care of me and stayed until they came back…” He gasped and began to wipe the tears off his face. “That’s why,” He said. “When I found out you’d go to the library to read books, I—“

Aiba cut him off with a kiss; he’d heard enough of Sho’s rambling. From now on, Aiba just wanted make it all up to him and return the favor for repressing all those emotions for so many years. As he pulled back, Aiba beamed. “I love you too, Sho-chan.” He said.

Sho gaped at him for a while, until the tears welled up in his eyes again. “Masaki…”

They were about to kiss again, but a clicking sound from behind had caught them off guard. They turned around and found Nino and Ohno watching them with all smiles. The door slightly opened and Nino’s phone was peeking out through the gap.

Left hanging, Aiba watched as Sho’s face started to crumple again and stomped towards the door. “Ninomiya!”

The rushing water crashed and seeped into the dry sand, with the sound of its rhythm being music to Aiba’s ears. A cool breeze suddenly passed through and prickled Aiba’s sun kissed skin, forcing him to open his eyes and find the blazing sun shining over him again. Aiba shielded his face with his towel and tried to doze off again. However, he heard footsteps approaching him and by the time he felt a tap on his shoulder, Aiba quickly removed the towel. Sho loomed over him, offering him a bottle of chilled water.

“Can’t handle the heat?” Sho smirked.

Aiba sat up from his seat and took the bottle. “Thanks.” He said and proceeded to drink. “I didn’t expect it would be this hot in Chiba this year.”

“It’s alright.” Sho said. “You sure you don’t want to go fishing with the other three?”

“No.” Aiba shook his head. “Maybe I’ll do it later.”

“Okay,” Sho nodded. “I’ll do fishing later too then.” He then went to kiss him on the cheek, causing Aiba’s lips to twist into a smile.

“Aww, how sweet.” They heard a squeal from behind.

Aiba groaned. “Becky…” He glared at her.

“What? You guys are cute.” She said and grinned. “So, this is the Sakurai Sho you were talking about, huh?”

“Yes. It’s nice to meet you, Becky-san.” Sho bowed his head.

“You too! Oooh, such a pretty thing!” She pointed out to the pink bracelet Sho was wearing. “Could I take a closer look?”

Sho shot a weird look at her, but he followed suit anyway.

“Oh, wow.” She said as she touched the bracelet with her fingertips. “It’s an actual rose quartz bracelet!”

“Rose quartz?” Aiba raised a brow.

“Yup, rose quartz represents love; it’s good for maintaining and restoring relationships, both platonic and romantic.” She remarked. “You should keep wearing it.” She said to Sho.

Sho slowly nodded. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Anyway, I got to go; my family’s waiting back at the beach house. See you all later!” She said, waving her hand, and walked away.

Aiba then chuckled. “She sure is strange, isn’t she?” He said, turning to Sho, only to find the man staring at the bracelet on his wrist.

“You know,” Sho said. “Ever since you gave this to me, I never took it off. Not even when we broke up.”

Aiba blinked. “So, are you saying that, maybe…?”

Sho looked towards him. “Could it be?”

The two of them simply looked at each other with meaningful gazes full of wonder, until they burst out laughing.


End file.
